Temporary and Seasonal Work

Qualifying work  means temporary employment or seasonal employment in agricultural work or fishing work.

Agricultural work  means the production or initial processing of crops, dairy products, poultry, or livestock, as well as the cultivation or harvesting of trees. It consists of work performed for wages or personal subsistence.

Fishing work  means the catching or initial processing of fish or shellfish or the raising or harvesting of fish or shellfish at fish farms. It consists of work performed for wages or personal subsistence.

Seasonal Employment  means employment that occurs only during a certain period of the year because of the cycles of nature and that, by its nature, may not be continuous or carried on throughout the year.

Temporary employment  means employment that lasts for a limited period of time, usually a few months, but no longer than 12 months. It typically includes employment where the employer states that the worker was hired for a limited time frame; the worker states that the worker does not intend to remain in that employment indefinitely; or the SEA has determined on some other reasonable basis that the employment is temporary.  The definition includes employment that is constant and available year-round only if, within 18 months after the effective date of this regulation and at least once every three years thereafter, the SEA documents that, given the nature of the work, of those workers whose children were previously determined to be eligible based on the State’s prior determination of the temporary nature of such employment (or the children themselves if they are the workers), virtually no workers remained employed by the same employer more than 12 months.

Requesting a Second Opinion: Scenario 1 A worker moved from Houston, Mississippi, to Brooklet, Georgia, with his wife and two children, ages 6 and 9, to harvest peanuts. He was especially excited to move to Brooklet because his older brother and his family live there as well. He knew that his children were looking forward to spending time with their cousins. Once the harvest is over, both families will travel together to Mexico and spend the holidays together. The worker began work the day after the family arrived, about a month ago. The recruiter working on this case needs to determine whether the children are eligible for the MEP. The recruiter has gone through the eligibility factors and believes that the children are eligible. However, the recruiter is not sure if the worker’s employment was seasonal or if he was hired permanently, and the peanut harvest was just one activity in a series that lead to year- round employment.

Requesting a Second Opinion: Scenario 2 This past October, a recruiter from Louisiana interviewed a family that moved the previous week from Burley, Idaho, to Delcambre. The family told the recruiter that in the past they thinned and harvested sugar beets. Their move to Delcambre will allow them to be close to their extended family and they plan to find whatever work is available, even returning to the fields to work. The family has heard about the MEP and wants their children, ages 7 and 10, to participate. They want the recruiter to sign the children up as soon as possible.

Requesting a Second Opinion: Scenario 3 In October last year, Joe Corey and his son, Ramon, age 17, moved from Fallon, Nevada, to Orange Cove, California, to pick oranges and lemons. They continued moving, living in various towns, such as Orosi, Reedley, Dinuba, and other communities close to Orange Cove, to pick the citrus crop. In December, Joe found housing in nearby Cutler, California. Once in Cutler, his wife, Lucia and two other children, ages 13 and 10, moved from Nevada to join Joe and Ramon. Later in the month, Lucia took a job pruning grapes. A recruiter interviewed Ms. Corey. The mother explained that each year, depending on whether housing was secured, she and her children join her husband and older son. She added that it is too difficult for her and the younger children to live without good housing during the winter.

Requesting a Second Opinion: Scenario 4  In August of last year, Elena Smith and her three children, ages 4, 10, and 12, moved from Little Rock, Arkansas to Dodson, LA. Elena heard that the local chicken processing plant was hiring workers and she really needed the work. She had done this type of work in the past. When she arrived to Dodson, no work was available. Two weeks later, she received a call from the HR office and got a job as an egg sorter. The HR representative told Elena that her job was temporary. Two years later, the local recruiter interviewed Elena. Elena was still working at the processing plant.