Essential Workers for Economic Advancement Act

Summary

Creates a new H‑2C nonimmigrant worker program with definitions, employer registration, allocation rules, and worker admission criteria, and changes eligibility for several federal tax credits for H‑2C workers. It reserves part of each allocation for small businesses, requires prioritization for certain workforce practices, returns unfilled positions to the next allocation after long vacancies, and disqualifies H‑2C workers from the premium tax credit, the child tax credit, and the earned income tax credit (including joint-return effects). One statutory amendment to the H‑2 definition is indicated but the exact inserted language is not provided in the text excerpt.

• Creates a new H‑2C nonimmigrant worker category and statutory placement for admission rules administered by DHS.
• Defines program terms (registered employer/position, enduring job opening, small business, full employment area, zone occupations, low sales‑per‑employee industries).
• Requires employer registration and divides H‑2C slots into two 6‑month allocation periods each year with at least 25% reserved for small businesses.
• Unfilled registered positions that remain vacant any time during a 240‑day period are terminated and returned to the next allocation.
• Prioritizes small businesses in low‑sales‑per‑employee sectors that adopt specific workforce practices (including programs for justice‑involved youth and safety/retention measures).
• Treats H‑2C nonimmigrants as ineligible for the premium tax credit, child tax credit, and earned income tax credit and applies joint‑return denial rules when both spouses are H‑2C.
• Alters employer treatment under certain employer shared‑responsibility rules (IRC §4980H) for H‑2C employees with respect to premium tax credits or CSR eligibility.
• Includes an amendment to the H‑2 statutory definition but the inserted language is not provided in the excerpt, leaving some substantive effect unclear.