Interstate H2A job order. 14 temporary/permanent Fruit Harvesters and Orchard Workers needed for 02/10/2025 to 11/15/2025. All workers should have at least 3 months experience. Crops/Commodities: apples, peaches. Harvest: Pick apples and peaches by hand for fresh market and processing. Spot and/or strip pick fruit based on seasonal need. Ensure removal of all fruit meeting picking requirements from trees. Gently snap fruit off tree with pads of fingers and palm of hand to avoid stem pulls, punctures, bruising, or other damage. When directed, cut stems with handheld stem clippers after removal of fruit from tree. Carefully place fruit in picking container worn over shoulders with straps. Empty filled picking container weighing up to 40 lbs into bulk field bin, avoiding bruising of fruit. Avoid/discard severely damaged or decaying fruit. Keep bins free of limbs, leaves, decayed fruit and any other foreign matter. Use/handle ladders up to 20 ft. in length and weighing up to 60 lbs. Follow supervisors' instructions on color/size or other requirements of harvested fruit. Must be able to differentiate between colors and fruit varieties accurately. Harvesting specifics can change daily depending on different orchards, varieties, crop or market conditions. Workers will be expected to conform to the specific instructions given for each fruit variety in any given orchard. Supervisors will explain and demonstrate picking requirements to all workers at the start of the season and as needed thereafter to ensure quality standards. Minimum harvest production standards are as follows: 16 bushels per hour for clean-picked fresh apples, 16.5 bushels per hour for clean-picked processing apples, 11.5 bushels per hour for spot-picked apples. Minimum harvest production standards may be adjusted downward to accommodate extenuating market and/or harvest conditions and such adjustment shall be communicated to workers. Bruised or damaged fruit will be noted by supervisor(s) in a post-inspection quality report, and shall not be excessive. Bruising and damage tolerances will vary based on crop and market conditions and shall be communicated to workers by supervisors. Worker's picked fruit will be inspected randomly each day. Supervisors may issue written disciplinary notice to workers with a significant number of culls, bruised, or damaged fruit. Repeated failure to follow quality control instructions may result in disciplinary action up to and including termination. Piece rate pay may be enacted based on variety and crop/market conditions. Piece rates starting at $0.95 per bushel and may go up based on variety and conditions. Workers must comply with picking instructions and communicated quality standards. Workers failing to produce a sufficient number of piece rate units to earn the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for all hours worked during a pay period will be paid on an hourly basis at the AEWR for that pay period. Workers paid on an hourly basis who fail to perform their duties in a proficient manner and/or fail to meet minimum harvest production standards will be provided up to three warnings, and will be coached/instructed on working faster and more efficiently. Worker may be terminated upon issuance of third warning. Pruning: Hand pruning based on fruit variety. Use manual and mechanized pruning tools and equipment. Identify and remove stubs or broken branches, downward-growing branches, branches rubbing against each other, shaded interior branches, dead wood and shoot-suckers. Follow supervisors' instructions on pruning method. Thinning: Hand thin to control the size and quality of fruit. Remove excess and defective fruit from within a cluster of other fruits. Must accurately identify and remove misshapen, damaged or otherwise unmarketable fruit. General labor: Perform ditching, shoveling, hoeing, hauling and other manual tasks. Clear debris and stones from orchards, and clean/maintain farm buildings, structures, equipment, and work areas. Rem ve suckers from tree bases. Lift, carry, and load/unload products or supplies. Hang mating disruption tabs in trees. Workers are subject to random drug testing at no cost to the employee. All drug testing will occur after the worker begins his or her employment and is not a part of the interview process. Failing or refusing a drug test will result in immediate termination. Pay period is Monday through Sunday, paid following Friday. Employer-paid drug testing required of foreign and domestic workers prior to commencing work and post-hire at random, upon suspicion of use, and post-accident. Post-hire background check and employment eligibility (e-Verify) check required of foreign and domestic workers. Post-hire background check and employment eligibility (e-Verify) check required of foreign and domestic workers. Employer-paid physical required prior to beginning work to ensure worker can safely perform the job. Drug & background testing pre hire paid by employer. Wage rate is no less than $17.20 per Hour. The standard workweek is 8 hours per day Mon-Fri. Employer makes all payroll deductions required by law. Employer does not envision other workforce-wide payroll deductions. Voluntary deductions must be pre-authorized in writing and may include the following: Voluntary advances and/or loans made to workers, if any, may be repaid by pre-authorized payroll deductions. Employer deducts reasonable fair market value cost of rent/utilities based on number of occupants for workers electing to reside in employer-arranged housing (cost TBD). Employer may deduct retirement/savings plan contributions and/or health insurance premiums for workers voluntarily participating in plan(s). All deductions from the worker's paycheck required by law will be made. Employer pays in advance or reimburses workers in the first workweek for all government-mandated and visa-related fees (excluding passport fees). For non-local workers (i.e., residing outside normal commuting distance), employer reimburses inbound travel costs at the 50% point in the contract (unless paid in advance). Inbound travel includes transportation costs from workers permanent residence or place of recruitment, a daily meal subsistence (based on rates required by law, currently $15.88 per day minimum or $59.00 per day maximum for workers with acceptable receipts), and reasonable lodging costs, if applicable. Travel reimbursements based on least-cost common carrier rate. Employer provides or pays outbound travel costs upon completion of the contract period or early dismissal, except where the worker has subsequent employment. Employer guarantees to offer hours equal to at least three-fourths of the workdays in each 12-week period of the total contract period, beginning with the workers first workday and ending on the contract end date or any extension thereof. Employer may count all hours worked, as well as any hours offered within the standard work schedule that a worker chooses to not work, up to the maximum number of daily hours on the job order. Workers who voluntarily abandon employment are not entitled to payment for outbound travel costs or the full three-fourths period guarantee described above. JOB Location: Mt. Brook Farm/Main Office - 495 Clines Church Rd. Gardners, Pennsylvania 17324 ---Note: In view of the statutorily established basic function of the Employment Service (ES) as a no-fee labor exchange, that is, as a forum for bringing together employers and job seekers, neither the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) nor the State Workforce Agency (SWA)s are guarantors of the accuracy or truthfulness of information contained on job orders submitted by employers. Nor does any job order accepted or recruited upon by the ES constitute a contractual job offer to which the ETA or a SWA is in any way a party;