President Donald Trump has canceled a controversial labor rule from the Biden administration that granted union-style protections to temporary foreign farmworkers but excluded their American counterparts.

The 2024 regulation, which extended collective bargaining rights to foreign laborers on H-2A agricultural visas but not to U.S. citizens in the same jobs, was legally challenged and struck down by federal courts before being officially revoked by the Trump administration, as Breitbart reports.

Originally introduced by the Biden administration, the rule aimed to provide collective bargaining-style rights to temporary agricultural workers on H-2A visas, prompting backlash due to its exclusion of domestic farmworkers doing the same work.

Rule sparked legal backlash

The H-2A program allows foreign nationals to work temporarily on American farms, typically in labor-intensive roles. Critics said the proposed rule favored these temporary foreign workers over U.S. citizens, violating equitable labor standards.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach led a multistate lawsuit challenging the rule, joined by 17 other states.

The lawsuit argued that the rule violated the National Labor Relations Act, which excludes farmworkers from collective bargaining protections.

U.S. District Judge Danny Reeves ruled in November that the Biden administration had overstepped legal boundaries by embedding bargaining rights through restrictions on employers, violating the statutory limits set by federal labor law.

Courts weigh in

Judge Reeves wrote that the regulation “not so sneakily” created new labor rights through employer prohibitions, effectively granting protections not authorized under existing law. This interpretation played a major role in nullifying the rule.

Following the court challenges, the Trump administration proceeded to officially revoke the suspended rule through a formal announcement by the Department of Labor, bringing an end to its implementation efforts.

Kobach applauded the decision, stating, “Once again, Joe Biden is putting America last.”

He and other state officials claimed the rule tilted the labor market unfairly by giving additional rights only to foreign workers on H-2A visas.

Americans at disadvantage?

Opponents of the regulation insisted it created an unequal environment where American workers in agriculture would hold fewer rights than their foreign counterparts, despite doing the same jobs side by side in the fields.

The case drew national attention to the limitations imposed by the National Labor Relations Act, which excludes agricultural workers from collective bargaining -- a key legal point used to challenge the Biden administration’s approach.

Legal experts indicated the Biden administration attempted to give foreign farmworkers more leverage by restricting employer conduct, but the courts ruled that such restrictions effectively created unauthorized rights.

Trump administration takes action

By embedding these limitations within a labor rule, the administration tried to avoid directly contravening the NLRA, but federal judges found that the intent rendered the rule invalid.

The Trump administration then moved to make that ruling final through regulatory repeal.

The Department of Labor’s rescission now restores the previous status quo, where neither foreign nor American farmworkers hold collective bargaining rights under federal labor law due to the NLRA's agricultural exemption.

Going forward, the Trump administration suggested no new rule would be introduced to replace the rescinded regulation, signaling an intent to maintain current labor law boundaries in agricultural employment.