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Farm Labor Camp/Housing Standards

H-2A employers that use hotels, motels, or other similar public accommodations to house workers must ensure that those accommodations meet certain essential health and safety measures.
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What are Labor Camps?
H-2A employers must provide housing at no cost to H-2A workers and to those workers in corresponding employment who are unable to return to their residence within the same day.

H-2A employers may house workers in temporary labor camps that they own or control, or they may use rental or public accommodations, such as hotels or motels.

H-2A employers must provide housing at no cost to H-2A workers and to those workers in corresponding employment who are unable to return to their residence within the same day.

H-2A employers may house workers in temporary labor camps that they own or control, or they may use rental or public accommodations, such as hotels or motels.

Standards for Labor Camps:
H-2A employers that use hotels, motels, or other similar public accommodations to house workers must ensure that those accommodations meet certain essential health and safety measures summarized below.

  • Where local health and safety standards for rental and/or public accommodations exist, local standards will apply. 
  • If, however, the local standards do not address any one or more of these essential measures, then State’s standards addressing those concerns will apply on that issue. 
  • If neither local nor state standards address any one or more of those essential measures, then the relevant OSHA standards that pertain to those concerns will apply. 

Labor Camp Inspections:

  • State Workforce Agency (SWA) will designate a Housing Inspector to conduct Labor Camp Inspection(s) at least 30 days prior to the Date of Need. It is mandatory that State Workforce Agency (SWA) conducts these inspections to assess the type of housing provided to the foreign workers. The inspector ensures that the Labor camp meets all standards as specified by WHD’s Housing Safety and Health Standards Checklists for the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) Standards and the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Standards for Temporary Labor Camps under the H-2A Program. 
  • If the Labor Camps do not meet any of the above said requirements, the Housing Inspector may take appropriate action from issuing a Notice of Deficiency to denying the housing.

For more information on OSHA and ETA Standards:

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