WASHINGTON, DC – Following oral argument at the Supreme Court this morning in Department of Labor v. Sun Valley Orchards, LLC, a case in which the Supreme Court is considering whether the Constitution permits the Department of Labor to use administrative proceedings to impose civil monetary penalties on employers who violate the terms of the H-2A guestworker program, Constitutional Accountability Center Appellate Counsel Joshua Blecher-Cohen issued the following reaction:

In creating the H-2A visa program, Congress conferred government benefits on private agricultural employers. As our amicus brief explains, the federal government’s power in this sphere is so total that no employer has a vested right to act within it absent Congress’s approval. The H-2A visa program thus falls within the public-rights doctrine the Supreme Court reaffirmed in SEC v. Jarkesy, permitting the Department of Labor’s use of administrative proceedings to impose civil monetary penalties.

CAC Senior Appellate Counsel Smita Ghosh added this reaction:

As many justices at this morning’s oral argument recognized, the H-2A visa program creates a program of privileges and benefits for employers who enjoy the benefit of immigrant labor. Justice Barrett, for example, underscored in her questioning that this program resembles a “government benefit,” much like public assistance or Medicaid. This case presents an opportunity, then, not only to clarify the scope of the public-rights doctrine, but also to make sure that all beneficiaries of government assistance—from big corporations to everyday individuals—are treated exactly the same.