Penn State Extension will present a town hall-style, web-based seminar on Thursday, May 7, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. to assist Pennsylvania agricultural stakeholders who rely on the H-2A visa program for temporary workers to operate their businesses.
The session will cover COVID-19 mitigation efforts, such as international travel restrictions and consulate closures, that have disrupted the normal functioning of the H-2A visa program. These disruptions to the H-2A program raise questions about the arrival of guest workers and the impact on essential food and agricultural businesses.
The webinar also will address the dangers of COVID-19 itself and will raise similar questions around how to protect the health and well-being of these visa holders.
The first half of the program will feature guest speakers who will discuss the implications of the new H-2A temporary rule change, discussing impacts on how the program interfaces with state agencies; what growers are experiencing related to travel logistics and visa processing of their guest workers; steps that employers should take to protect employee health; what health programs are available to farm workers in Pennsylvania; how immigrant farm communities are experiencing the pandemic; and what legislative fixes are either in the pipeline or should be considered.
The second half will include a time for questions and answers with the guest speakers, and webinar attendees are encouraged to send their questions beforehand. They also will be able to ask their questions in a live chat with the panelists during the webinar.
Guest speakers will include Richard Stup, agricultural workforce specialist at Cornell Cooperative Extension; Brook Duer, staff attorney at the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law; Grant Meckley of Pennsylvania Keystone Health's Agricultural Worker Program; Scott Sheely, executive director of the Lancaster County Agriculture Council; and Alyssa Charney, agriculture legislative assistant from Sen. Robert Casey's office. Casey serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
To register, readers may visit https://extension.psu.edu/h-2a-agricultural-workers-in-times-of-uncertainty-webinar-pr. To submit questions in English, readers may email Benjamin Bartley at bvb5598@psu.edu. To submit questions in Spanish, readers may email Maria Gorgo at mag38@psu.edu. For more information, readers may contact Gorgo at the aformentioned email address or 609-369-3281 or contact Dana Ollendyke djm428@psu.edu or 814-863-5567.
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