Source: USDOL, 5/13/21 The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an 18-month
delay in the effective date of the final rule, “Strengthening Wage
Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the
United States.”
Published in January 2021, the final rule affects employers
seeking to employ foreign workers on a permanent or temporary basis through
certain immigrant visas or through H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 non-immigrant
visas. The final rule will now go into effect on Nov. 14, 2022. The delay will provide the department with sufficient time to consider the final rule’s legal and policy issues thoroughly, and to review the public comments received in response to a Request for Information published on April 2, 2021. The RFI seeks
information about potential sources and methods for determining prevailing wage
levels. The delay will also give agency officials sufficient time to
compute and validate prevailing wage data covering specific occupations and
geographic areas, complete necessary system modifications and conduct public
outreach. This follows an initial 60-day delay. The department based this
action on a Jan. 20, 2021, White House memo. Read the final rule finalizing the delay, now
available online for public inspection. It was published in the Federal
Register today.
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