The Nebraska Legislature is considering a bill that would help address labor shortages for local detasseling companies.
During a hearing Monday, Senator Steve Erdman of Bayard cited that In 2019 there were 710 residents on a wait list for local companies and says major seed companies can hire H-2A workers more easily according to federal statute.
Bayard says that issue is forcing local employers out of business. “What’s happening is the contractors who employee people to do detasseling are telling the government ‘we don’t have the employees locally so we have to hire these migrant workers to come and do the detasseling,’ when in fact that’s not the case.”
LB 393 would also help improve employee health by shortening the length of the workday and capping the number of hours worked per week.
