Officials say a change in federal law could make it harder for northern New England’s ski industry to find enough workers this season.
Parker Riehle of the Vermont Ski Areas Association says the change is in the so-called H2B visa program.
The program allows 66,000 people into the United States each year to work as seasonal workers. But before this year, people who worked in the program in previous years were allowed to return to the United States without being counted against the annual cap.
Now that’s not the case.
And that could leave resorts short of workers.
At its peak, the Vermont ski industry employs about 22,000 people. About 10 to 15 percent of those people are foreign workers.
Riehle says officials hope Congress will change the law.