Agricultural Law Weekly Review
The Agricultural Law Weekly Review provides an update of recent agricultural law developments from local, state, national, and international levels. Subscribe for updates.
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—November 6, 2023
Agricultural Labor: National Labor Relations Board Publishes Final Rule for New Joint Employer Status Test 🌾
On October 27, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published in the Federal Register a final rule titled “Standards for Determining Joint Employer Status” (88 FR 73946), which replaces the previous 2020 rule (85 FR 11184). Also announced by NLRB, the final rule establishes that “an entity may be considered a joint employer of another employer’s employees if the two share or codetermine the employees’ essential terms and conditions of employment,” which the rule defines using seven categories: 1) “wages, benefits, […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 30, 2023
National Agricultural Policy: USDA Allocates $2.3 Billion in CCC Funds for Trade Promotion, Surplus Commodity Purchases 🌾
On October 24, 2023, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that USDA will allocate $2.3 billion in Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds for agricultural trade promotion and international food aid. According to the announcement, $1.3 billion will fund a new Regional Agricultural Promotion Program and $1 billion will fund purchases of surplus U.S. commodities for distribution through USAID. See also ALWR—Oct. 2, 2023, “GAO Decision Finds USDA’s Use of Commodity Credit Corporation Funds Lawful.”
Technology: USDA Rural Development Allows Loan, […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 23, 2023
Ag-Gag Statutes: Supreme Court Denies Petition to Decide Whether First Amendment Protects ‘Newsgathering Activities’ in Non-Public Farm Areas 🌾
On October 16, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari for a case seeking reversal of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s decision upholding parts of North Carolina’s Property Protection Act—but enjoining enforcement of the act for “newsgathering activities.” Stein v. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Inc., No. 22-1150 (U.S.); PETA v. NC Farm Bureau, No. 20-1776 (4th Cir.). The Fourth Circuit’s opinion, which held that […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 16, 2023
Agricultural Labor: Supreme Court Denies Case to Apply FLSA ‘Agricultural Exemption’ to On-Farm Construction 🌾
On October 2, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari in a case questioning whether a company must pay overtime to H-2A employees who construct on-farm livestock confinement facilities or whether those employees are exempted from Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) overtime requirements as “agricultural workers.” Signet Builders Inc. v. Vanegas, No. 22-869. The petitioner construction company sought to overturn a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, which found that the company had failed to […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 9, 2023
Agricultural Labor: Federal Court Denies Preliminary Injunction of February 2023 H-2A Wage Rule 🌾
On September 26, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina issued an order denying a preliminary injunction against the Department of Labor’s (DOL) February 2023 final rule, which amended the H-2A wage rate calculations to include data from non-agricultural occupations. USA Farm Labor v. Su, No. 1:23-cv-00096. The court found that the plaintiff farm employer group “ha[d] not made an adequate showing . . . that the Agency has exceeded its statutory authority or that its construction of the […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—October 2, 2023
National Agricultural Policy: GAO Decision Finds USDA’s Use of Commodity Credit Corporation Funds Lawful 🌾
On September 20, 2023, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) published a decision concluding that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) “did not violate the [Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC)] Charter Act or the Antideficiency Act when it used CCC funds for programs that were not specifically included in its [FY 2021] budget submission to Congress” because the “Government Corporation Control Act (GCCA) does not require corporations to delineate specific programs in their budget submissions prior to carrying them out.” Additionally, the GAO decision found that […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—September 25, 2023
Pesticides: Federal Court Approves Settlement in 2011 EPA Pesticide Registration Dispute 🌾
On September 12, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order approving a stipulated settlement agreement between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and plaintiff environmental groups, resolving a longstanding dispute over EPA’s registration of 382 pesticide active ingredients. Center for Biological Diversity v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 3:11-cv-00293. Also announced by EPA, the settlement “resolves all outstanding claims” of the “megasuit,” filed in 2011 and partially settled in 2019, “which was ultimately reduced to 35 […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—September 18, 2023
Conservation Programs: Federal Court Vacates USDA Decision Not Listing Eastern Hellbender Under Endangered Species Act 🌾
On September 5, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an opinion vacating and remanding the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) April 2019 proposed rule, which declared unnecessary the eastern hellbender’s Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing as endangered or threatened. Ctr. Biological Diversity v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, No. 1:21-cv-05706. The court determined that FWS’s “consider[ation] of conservation efforts that have not yet been demonstrated to be effective”—specifically “habitat restoration, […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—September 11, 2023
Antitrust: Federal Court Dismisses Monopsony Claims Against Tyson Fresh Meats 🌾
On August 28, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington issued an order granting Tyson Fresh Meats Inc.’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a former cattle feeder, Cody Allen Easterday. Easterday v. Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., No. 4:23-cv-05019. Easterday alleged that the company created a monopsony market in the Pacific Northwest where cattle feeders “have no reasonable choice but to contract with [Tyson]” in violation of the Packers and Stockyard Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the Washington Consumer Protection Act. The […]
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—September 4, 2023
WOTUS: EPA and Army Issue ‘Waters of the United States’ Pre-Publication Final Rule 🌾
On August 29, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), with the U.S. Department of the Army, announced that the agencies had released a pre-publication final rule and regulatory text changes to amend the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) in accordance with Sackett v. EPA. According to an accompanying fact sheet released by the agencies, the final rule omits “interstate wetlands” from the “interstate waters” jurisdictional language and “wetlands and streams” from the “additional waters” jurisdictional language; removes the […]
