Cultivating Compliance: A grower’s guide to complying with the agricultural-related worker protections

Worker with hat on in garden. Photo Credit: Remsburg
Farm worker is bent over checking soil bed in a garden. Photo Credit: Remsburg

Maine New Farmers Project Webinar
March 27, 2023, at 12:00-1:30 pm

Cultivating Compliance: A grower’s guide to complying with the agricultural-related worker protections enforced by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

Speaker: Brian Cleasby, (bio below)

WHD is responsible for administering a number of employment laws that extend various protections to
different types of agricultural workers; including the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), H-2A program
provisions (H-2A), and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA).
Navigating the interplay between these laws can be complex and violations can be costly. This webinar
will provide a broad overview of how employers can be covered by these requirements and will cover
key compliance considerations to aid in avoiding common violations.

Key Topics:

The FLSA’s minimum wage, overtime, child labor requirements will be discussed, as well as compliance principles under the H-2A Program and MSPA; including wages, transportation, housing, recordkeeping, and employee disclosure requirements. A Q and A period will follow the presentation, time permitting, and links to WHD agricultural employment-related resources will be shared during the session.

Cost: Free to all – you must register to get the zoom link.

Register Online

Brian Cleasby, Community Outreach and Resource Planning Specialist, USDOL/Wage and Hour Division, Northern New England District Office, Manchester, NH

Brian joined the Wage and Hour Division in 1995 after graduating from Bates College in Lewiston, ME with a BA in Political Science. Prior to transitioning to his current position in September 2020, Brian was a Wage and Hour Investigator for 25 years. During his time as an investigator, he was involved with enforcing the full range of federal labor laws enforced by the Division; including the Fair Labor Standards
Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Davis Bacon and Related Acts, the Service Contract Act, the Migrant and Seasonal Worker Protection Act, and the “H” visa programs under the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Brian has been the recipient of numerous awards during his career, including the Secretary’s Exceptional Service Impact Award, the Distinguished Career Service Award, and the Mark D. Falk Public Service Recognition Award.


For more information or a reasonable accommodation, please contact Chris Howard at email christina.howard@maine.edu.


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