Department of Labor v. Sun Valley Orchards-U.S. Supreme Court Amicus
Published Friday, August 14, 2026
On July 31, California Farm Bureau joined Southeastern Legal Foundation, National Council of Agricultural Employers and other agricultural groups supporting Sun Valley Orchards in filing an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Congress allowed the secretary of labor to take action to make sure employers follow the requirements of the H-2A temporary agricultural workers program. The law says that the secretary may impose appropriate penalties and ask for court orders requiring compliance. But the law does not say that U.S. Department of Labor may create its own internal court system, decide cases inside the agency and issue final orders without first proving its case in a regular federal court.
In this case, Labor Department did just that and hit Sun Valley with more than $556,000 in penalties and back wages. The amicus brief stresses that Congress did not give the Labor Department the power to make a final, binding decision through the internal process. Rather, the Labor Department use the existing judicial process. The U.S. Supreme Court will hold oral argument on Nov. 10.
Staff contact: Kari Fisher, kfisher@cfbf.com.
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