Navigating H-2B

The hiring problem isn’t going away for most of you, and with continued restrictions on H-2B, contractors need to be well-versed in the program. During the GIE+EXPO, Josh Denison of Denison Landscaping and Mari Medrano Meija of CoCal spoke to the ups and downs of the H-2B program – a program they have used for years.

“This year was horrible; it was a bad year,” Medrano Meija said. Denison received his workers 11 ½ weeks late while Meija wanted her workers on April 1 and received them mid-May. She said the delay cost $375,00 in lost contracts.

While 2016 saw delays in receiving their H-2B workers, both Denison and Medrano Meija said they will continue to use the program.

“It beats you up emotionally,” she said. “But the program works and I don’t see CoCal without it.” 

Here are some takeaways from their experience:

• Denison said the process for him takes about seven months start to finish and can be pricey. “It’s pre planned. You have to know your numbers,” he said, adding travel costs add up to $1,200 to $1,500 per person. Meija said CoCal’s are about $600 per person.
• When using H-2B, you have to pay both H-2B workers and your American workers the prevailing wage in that area. For Denison, it was $13.95 in 2016, while it was $13.46 for CoCal. 
• When you have to bring entry level employees in at a prevailing wage of $13, other workers making $14 may ask for more since the entry level pay is so high. “You would think they don’t talk about wages but they do,” said Meija, adding that CoCal did raise those pay rates.
• Why continue to do it with so many restrictions? “They’re my guys,” Denison said. “They are the guys who have worked with us for nine, 10, 12, 15 years.”
• Denison said he hires domestically year-round. He hired 342 in fiscal year 2016 and he as 14 left. “So, why do I jump through the hoops? Because what we do is not easy,” he said.
• If you provide housing and transportation pay for H-2B workers, you have to offer it for all your employees. Denison usually researches and offers a list of 30 properties workers can choose from to live. He said most workers don’t opt for the housing.
• Denison doesn’t allow H-2B workers to refer someone until they’ve been there for three years. He said his success rate has been excellent with that rule. “You know who you are getting,” Denison said. “They aren’t going to come up and let the person who vouched for them down.”