Remote work continues in 2021 due to the pandemic. Employers should review how their team has adapted to remote work and continue to look for ways to keep operations running efficiently and with positive employee morale. 

DOL released additional information on the random groupings for H-2B visa processing

Please see below the announcement made yesterday by the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) regarding H-2B applications.

OFLC Publishes List of Randomized H-2B Applications Submitted January 1-3 for Employers Seeking H-2B Workers Starting April 1, 2021

To keep the public informed regarding the submission and assignment of H-2B applications for review, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) published the assignment group(s) for 5,377 H-2B applications covering 96,641 worker positions with the start date of work of April 1, 2021.

Following the randomization procedures published in the Federal Register on March 4, 2019, OFLC completed the randomization process on January 5 and assigned to National Processing Center analysts all H-2B applications placed in Assignment Group A for issuance of Notices of Deficiency or Acceptance. Group A includes enough worker positions to reach the H-2B semi-annual visa allotment of 33,000. Four additional Assignment Groups (Groups B-E) were created for the remaining applications, each of which includes no more than 20,000 worker positions.

On January 5, 2021, OFLC provided written notice to each employer (and the employer's authorized attorney or agent) informing them about the Assignment Group for their application(s).

• View the Assignment Groups for H-2B Applications Submitted January 1-3, 2021

The ELITE Awards honor excellence in the landscape industry. As you may have seen earlier this week, The ELITE Awards nomination period and nomination deadline are being delayed until spring 2021.

Covid restrictions prevent large in-person gatherings, which prohibit the ELITE Awards reception from being held in spring 2021 as usual. One of the most valuable aspects of the ELITE Awards program is gathering with colleagues in the industry to honor those who have made excellent contributions. Unfortunately, we will not be able to do this in spring of 2021. We are aiming to have an in-person gathering for the ELITE Awards in fall 2021.

H-2B program suspension is extended by White House proclamation

As you may have heard, the H-2B guest worker program has been suspended by a White House proclamation. The proclamation extended Trump's original order, which was set to expire December 31, 2020, until March 31, 2021. You can read a good summary of this action here. The H-2B Workforce Coalition will be working with the Biden administration to rescind this order.

In the meantime, I have shared below a valuable summary from ALCC member Pabian Law on what this means for the landscape industry.

Sunday evening, President Trump signed the omnibus appropriations/COVID-19 stimulus bill.  As you know, the bill includes the current provisions of law related to the H-2B program.  Specifically, the bill:

Landscape company owners should be aware of scams and online threats to their business and their clients. In 2020, as more business is conducted online and consumers are using online ordering and payment for the first time for many services, cybersecurity is more critical than ever. Scammers have become increasingly sophisticated, leaving even savvy internet users vulnerable. 

As pandemic restrictions continue to prevent large-scale events, ProGreen EXPO has pivoted to become the ProGreen EXPERIENCE. The conference and trade show for the Rocky Mountain region will take place February 22-25, 2021 online. The schedule is being confirmed, and registration will open soon.

As we look to close the books on 2020, there is still work to be done to get ready for 2021--even if snow removal is not on your service list. Here are two things you can do to help ensure a great start in 2021:

Construct an operating budget for 2021
For many companies, this is on the ‘to do’ list but gets pushed back and postponed until the question becomes “why bother?” Make this the year that doesn’t happen!

The Sustainable Landscape Management Colorado initiative continues to train landscape professionals despite the setbacks of 2020. The top three participating companies have a total of 57 employees that earned SLM certificates since the program began just over a year ago. Click through to get to know SLM "by the numbers" in a 2020 wrap-up infographic.

Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado (ALCC) has announced its board of directors for 2021. Voting was completed for the 2021 leadership and new at-large director on December 4, 2020.