Labor Secretary Tom Perez on Tuesday blamed Congress for the delays his department has faced in approving visas for foreign agricultural workers, and rejected the idea that Labor is simply dragging its feet.
Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., said the workers were crucial to his state’s seafood industry, and cited reports from last month that said it was taking steadily longer for the Labor Department to approve the special H-2B visas for those workers. Perez confirmed this, conceding, “Frankly, we fell significantly behind… It absolutely got worse.”
But Perez said the delays were caused by legislation passed by Congress last December that required the department to put out new rules for the program. That change doubled the number of applicants for the program, the secretary said. Harris countered that the real problem was that the administration did not have any interest in expediting things, partly because “special interests” allied with the administration did not like the visa program.
“Your department is hurting the economy in my district by dragging your feet on these regulations. You have a $12.7 billion budget. You ought to be able to do what we ask you to do and what the department has set as its goal, which is a seven-day (approval) process,” Harris said. He added that if the department did not act faster, then employers would likely start turning to hiring illegal immigrants.
Perez shot back that that it was the fault of lawmakers like Harris. “We are not dragging our feet, sir, we are trying to follow the new rules that you put in place in the middle of the process,” he said.
Later in the hearing, Harris pointed out that Perez had blamed last year’s delays on the courts. “Let’s see, last year it was the courts’ fault. This year, it is Congress’ fault. Does it go back to being the courts’ fault next year? Or, and this is a rhetorical question, does the Labor Department ever take responsibility for the delays in the H-2B visa program?”
The visa programs have long been controversial, as critics in organized labor, a key Democratic constituency, argue that they hurt domestic workers by keeping down wages. Labor groups have long fought efforts by business groups, which mainly ally with Republicans, to expand allowable applications for the H-2B Visa.
The labor secretary was also stumped Tuesday when asked if President Obama’s proposed new overtime regulations would result in workers earning more money overall. Harris, a critic of the proposed rule, argued that by making overtime more costly, the rule would give employers an incentive to hold employees at 40 hours a week, hurting people who have been working extra hours at regular pay.
“What percent of the employees who are going to be subject to this are getting pay past 40 hours and what percent are not getting it? I’m not talking about about overtime pay. I am talking about any pay for the extra hours,” Harris asked.
Perez responded, “I don’t have specific percentages” and said he would have to research the issue. Asked by Harris to provide his “gut feeling,” the labor secretary did not directly answer, clearly frustrating Harris.
“It is striking to me that you made a claim that ‘if you work extra, you will get paid extra,’ and you cannot tell me how many people are getting paid extra right now. Not time and a half, but paid extra,” Harris said.
Federal law requires that any worker that puts in more than 40 hours in a week must be paid 50 percent above their regular rate. A manager can exempt workers from this rule though if their duties are “managerial” in nature and they earn at least $23,660 annually. Critics of the existing rule, like Perez, argue that employers regularly abuse it, labeling regular workers as managerial to avoid paying them extra.
The proposed new Department of Labor overtime rule, long anticipated by labor groups and business associations, would raise the income cutoff to $50,440, making an estimated five million more workers eligible for added pay. It would also create a mechanism to automatically update the rate. The rule is expected to be officially released in July.
