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Source: USDOL, 12/1/21 The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a Notice of
Proposed Rulemaking seeking public comment on its proposal to modify the
methodology used to determine the hourly Adverse Effect Wage Rates for the H-2A
program. The proposed changes will better enable the department to meet its
statutory mandate to ensure the employment of H-2A workers will not adversely
affect the wages of workers in the United States similarly employed.
AEWRs
are the minimum hourly wage rates the department has determined must be offered
and paid by employers to H-2A workers and workers in corresponding employment,
so that the wages of workers in the United States similarly employed will not
be adversely affected. For field and livestock worker occupations, which represent the
vast majority of agricultural jobs, the proposed rule continues to use the
average annual hourly wage for field and livestock workers (combined) for the state or region, as reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Labor Survey. For all other agricultural
jobs, which are not adequately represented or reported by the current FLS data, the department proposes to set the AEWRs using the
statewide or national average annual hourly wages for the occupational
classification reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational
Employment and Wage Statistics Survey program. Where the job opportunity covers
more than one occupational classification, the department proposes to set the
AEWRs based on the highest wage for the applicable occupations. The NPRM is published in the Federal Register.
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