Wagner-Peyser Act

i. Career and Training Services Provided to MSFWs

Florida ensures that LWDBs and career centers serve all applicants, including MSFWs. Bilingual staff are available at all significant centers as well as many other centers across the state. In the career center network, staff are trained on the assistance needs of MSFWs. As part of the registration process, customers will be identified as MSFWs at the initial point of contact/intake and provided with a verbal and written explanation of services available in English, Spanish or Creole. An MSFW desk aid is available to all staff to assist in identifying MSFWs.

Career and training services will be provided as necessary to MSFWs. Basic and individualized career staff assisted services will be provided through outreach and in the career center to MSFWs. Florida’s electronic system, EFM, allows for self–services at any location, without the need of visiting a career center. Customers utilizing self–services at the career center, however, will have access to staff assistance.

The MSFWs’ knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) will be assessed to determine appropriate jobs to which they may be referred. Job referrals will be provided through mass recruitments, H–2A job referrals, other low–skilled job referrals and job developments. Effort will be made to refer MSFW job seekers to H–2A job orders whenever possible. Aside from Florida H–2A job orders, Georgia, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Virginia, and Pennsylvania H–2A jobs are also posted in EFM. Staff will ensure terms and conditions of employment are discussed prior to referral and that the job seeker is aware of the assurances afforded. H–2A job orders are suppressed in the EFM system for the purpose of ensuring maximum protections to the applicant. Staff are required to follow up on all referrals made to H–2A job orders.

Referrals will be made to ESL classes to reduce language barriers, and resume and interviewing skills workshops to enable MSFWs to become more competitive in the workforce. Staff will also provide career guidance and suggest training programs that would best serve the needs of those who are not job ready or those who are ready for a change in occupation. Referrals will be made to local FCDP training programs and LWDB training programs. Co–enrollments will take place when possible. Other programs MSFWs may be referred to include VR (for disabled MSFWs), older workers programs and housing assistance agencies. Staff will also be familiar with and refer MSFWs appropriately to other community supportive services.

The State Monitor Advocate or Assistant Monitor Advocate will conduct quality assurance visits to all significant offices on an annual basis to ensure that MSFWs have equal access to employment opportunities through Florida’s career center delivery system. WP monitoring staff will ensure MSFWs have equal access to services during quality assurance desk reviews of non–significant LWDBs.

ii. Service to Agricultural Employers

Florida ensures that all career centers make assistance available to all employers, including those in the agricultural industry, in filling job openings. To increase employer participation, links have been established with employers, employer associations and other employer groups to identify potential employers to establish a pool by which to refer MSFWs. Career center staff in significant MSFW centers, along with the assistance of LWDB Business Service Representatives, will perform marketing outreach to growers, harvesters and processors. The career centers will develop new employer contacts, maintain existing contacts and encourage job order creation through the local career centers. State office staff will also promote labor exchange services to agricultural employers through participation at employer conferences and seminars and through DEO’s website. The State Monitor Advocate will continue to partner with the Wage and Hour Division and agricultural employer organizations to conduct employer forums to agricultural employers and provide information on services available to employers, especially those pertaining to the agricultural industry such as local mass recruitments and the Agricultural Recruitment System.

Identifying the needs of employers will continue to be a high priority. A coordinated marketing program will be used to deliver services to employers, and a proactive approach will be taken to assist employers in filling their job vacancies. Strategies that will be used to promote labor exchange services to agricultural employers include recruiting agreements, job fairs and new business relationships. Some of these efforts include advising worker advocates and groups through notifications of job orders in both English and Spanish; and providing notification to employers and advocates of any changes to foreign labor program requirements that affect workers. Increased use of the Internet will also enhance service delivery to both the employers and applicants.

A number of career centers have agricultural recruiting agreements with large employers in an effort to place more MSFWs in job opportunity situations. Mass recruitment agreements are offered to agricultural employers at the beginning of a season or when large pools of labor are needed. These agreements can include services such as marketing, prescreening, referral, and completion of applications and I–9 documents. These services are often continued on an ongoing basis throughout the season, as needed by the employer.

As noted earlier, more agricultural employers are using the H–2A Temporary Non–Immigrant Alien Agricultural Worker Program. The state office provides assistance to these employers. H–2A job orders are entered by DEO’s Foreign Labor Certification office. During PY 2014, the Department processed 183 H–2A applications and job orders for Florida employers, an increase from the previous year. This number is expected to steadily increase for PY 2016, based on previous years’ trends. As a result, the state has been required to conduct increased pre–occupancy housing inspections, prevailing wage surveys and on–site recruitment.

State and local staff participate in recruitment efforts with Florida employers and farmworker organizations to recruit domestic workers. Staff will be encouraged to promote available H–2A jobs and the benefits offered during outreach activities, utilizing the tools previously mentioned. Coordinating activities with farmworker groups will maintain dialogue on job and worker availability to help increase U.S. worker participation. Career centers in significant agricultural areas will be provided copies of approved clearance orders that will provide all staff, including outreach workers, with current information on job availability to assist in these efforts. Career centers will be provided information on out–of–state clearance orders that can be found on the EFM system. Domestic farmworker crews, family groups and individuals will also be recruited and referred to agricultural employers who submit job orders in agricultural occupations.