H-2B Employer DOL WHD Wage Violation & Debarment Response

The situation

A small non-agricultural employer using H-2B seasonal workers, a landscaping company, seafood processor, hotel, forestry contractor, or amusement operator, receives a DOL Wage and Hour Division Notice of Determination alleging a wage violation or proposing debarment, with a strict 30-day deadline to request a hearing. DOL's own self-correction program explicitly excludes H-2B employers, and the same WHD office that investigated the employer prosecutes the case at any hearing.

Who receives this

Small and mid-size non-agricultural H-2B employers (typically 10-150 employees), landscaping, seafood processing, seasonal hospitality, forestry/reforestation, amusement/carnival operators, seasonal construction, with no in-house immigration counsel.

Why the agency will not advise you

WHD investigates, issues the Notice of Determination, and its own Solicitor of Labor represents the agency at any OALJ hearing, the same office cannot advise the employer it's investigating. DOL's PAID self-audit program explicitly bars H-2B employers from self-correction. Neither adjacent vendor (Seso, H2ACompass) offers self-serve H-2B response software, Seso's H-2B work is billed attorney service, and H2ACompass doesn't cover H-2B at all.

Key facts, with sources

• DHS and DOL's January 31, 2026 temporary final rule authorized 65,000 supplemental H-2B visas for FY2026 on top of the 66,000 statutory cap, roughly doubling the program, and paired it with heightened enforcement: a new mandatory DOL attestation requirement for supplemental-cap petitioners, explicit unannounced worksite inspections, and new DHS/DOL data-sharing with the SSA and state labor agencies specifically to detect wage theft and document fraud on H-2B petitions. Source: DOL and DHS Temporary Rule Provides for Additional 64,716 H-2B Visas in FY 2026 — Fragomen · Trump Administration Doubles FY-2026 H-2B Cap — VisaHQ
• DOL's Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) self-audit program, relaunched July 24, 2025, explicitly excludes employers of H-1B, H-2A, and H-2B visa workers from participating, meaning an H-2B employer who discovers a wage violation has no self-correction path and must go through formal WHD enforcement under 29 CFR Part 503, where the employer has 30 calendar days to request an OALJ hearing and the Solicitor of Labor, part of the same office that investigated the employer, represents WHD at that hearing. Source: Return of the PAID Program — Fisher Phillips · 29 CFR Part 503 Subpart C — Administrative Proceedings

When to bring in a professional

Self-serve responses fit routine cases: clear facts, amounts a business can absorb, and a deadline still ahead of you. Bring in a licensed professional when the amount at stake is large relative to their fee, the facts are genuinely disputed, criminal exposure is possible, or the deadline has already passed. A short paid consultation to sanity-check your plan is often worth it even when you handle the filing yourself.

All sources for this guide

1. DOL and DHS Temporary Rule Provides for Additional 64,716 H-2B Visas in FY 2026 — Fragomen
2. Trump Administration Doubles FY-2026 H-2B Cap — VisaHQ
3. Return of the PAID Program — Fisher Phillips
4. 29 CFR Part 503 Subpart C — Administrative Proceedings