Are employers required to provide housing for H-2B workers?
Unlike H-2A, the H-2B program does not carry a mandatory employer-provided housing obligation. In practice most H-2B employers provide or arrange housing anyway, because in a supply constrained market the workers cannot find it themselves and roles go unfilled.
What are the H-2A housing requirements?
H-2A employers must provide housing at no cost to H-2A workers and to workers in corresponding employment who cannot return home the same day. Employer housing must be inspected and certified by the State Workforce Agency before the season, and rental or public accommodations must meet local standards. We build and operate to the standard your certification requires. We are not your compliance advisor, so your counsel should confirm what applies to your filing.
Can our workers pay for their own housing?
It depends on the program. H-2A housing must be free to workers. H-2B workers can contribute through payroll deduction if the job order discloses it. J-1 exchange visitors typically pay rent, and their sponsor reviews whether it is affordable. Closing the gap between what workers pay and what you can defend internally is one of the first things we work through with you.
We only need the beds for part of the year.
On a lease there are several ways to handle it: you subsidize the shoulder months, we pair a counter-seasonal employer into the same building, or you sublease in the off season. If none of those work, sourced housing for the months you actually need is the better answer.
How far from the worksite will the housing be?
We target a commutable radius and we price proximity deliberately, because it reduces the transportation cost you are carrying separately through shuttles and vans.
What if we do not get our allocation?
You will still need the workers, whoever they turn out to be. On a lease we allow subleasing if headcount contracts, and on sourced housing the term is short enough that it is not the same exposure.
