PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Mar 7, 2012
American Jobs in American Forests Act of 2012 - Directs the Secretary of Labor, as a component of the H-2B (temporary nonagricultural workers) labor certification process, to take specified actions to recruit U.S. workers before petitioning to hire H-2B workers.
Requires a prospective H-2B employer to submit a separate petition for each state in which the employer plans to employ H-2B non-immigrants for a period of at least seven days. Prohibits the Secretary from granting a temporary labor certification to a prospective H-2B employer until the Director of the state workforce agency has determined that: (1) employer recruitment requirements have been met, and (2) U.S. nationals are not qualified or available to fill such employment opportunities.
People & committees
Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] · D–OR
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Introduced in Senate
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Source last updated: Aug 10, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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