Notice2021-27119
Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Employment of Foreign Workers in Agriculture in the United States: Adverse Effect Wage Rates for Non-Range Occupations in 2022
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 15, 2021
Issuing agencies
Labor DepartmentEmployment and Training Administration
Abstract
The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor (DOL) is issuing this notice to announce the 2022 Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) for the employment of temporary or seasonal nonimmigrant foreign workers (H-2A workers) to perform agricultural labor or services other than the herding or production of livestock on the range. AEWRs are the minimum wage rates the DOL has determined must be offered and paid by employers to H-2A workers and workers in corresponding employment so that the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States (U.S.) similarly employed will not be adversely affected. In this notice, DOL announces updates of the AEWRs.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 238 (Wednesday, December 15, 2021)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71282-71283]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-27119]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Employment of
Foreign Workers in Agriculture in the United States: Adverse Effect
Wage Rates for Non-Range Occupations in 2022
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the
Department of Labor (DOL) is issuing this notice to announce the 2022
Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) for the employment of temporary or
seasonal nonimmigrant foreign workers (H-2A workers) to perform
agricultural labor or services other than the herding or production of
livestock on the range. AEWRs are the minimum wage rates the DOL has
determined must be offered and paid by employers to H-2A workers and
workers in corresponding employment so that the wages and working
conditions of workers in the United States (U.S.) similarly employed
will not be adversely affected. In this notice, DOL announces updates
of the AEWRs.
DATES: These rates are applicable December 29, 2021.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Pasternak, Administrator, Office
of Foreign Labor Certification, Employment and Training Administration,
U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-5311,
Washington, DC 20210, telephone: (202) 693-8200 (this is not a toll-
free number). Individuals with hearing or speech impairments may access
the telephone numbers above via TTY/TDD by calling the toll-free
Federal Information Relay Service at 1 (877) 889-5627.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services of the Department of Homeland Security will not approve an
employer's petition for the admission of H-2A nonimmigrant temporary
and seasonal agricultural workers in the U.S. unless the petitioner has
received an H-2A labor certification from DOL. The labor certification
provides that: (1) There are not sufficient U.S. workers who are able,
willing, and qualified and who will be available at the time and place
needed to perform the labor or services involved in the petition; and
(2) the employment of the foreign worker(s) in such labor or services
will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers
in the U.S. similarly employed. See 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a),
1184(c)(1), and 1188(a); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5); 20 CFR 655.100.
Adverse Effect Wage Rates for 2022
DOL's H-2A regulations at 20 CFR 655.122(l) provide that employers
must pay their H-2A workers and workers in corresponding employment at
least the highest of: (i) The AEWR; (ii) the prevailing hourly wage
rate; (iii) the prevailing piece rate; (iv) the agreed-upon collective
bargaining wage rate; or (v) the federal or state minimum wage rate in
effect at the time the work is performed. Further, when the AEWR is
adjusted during a work contract and is higher than the highest of the
previous AEWR, the prevailing rate, the agreed-upon collective
bargaining wage, the federal minimum wage rate, or the state minimum
wage rate, the employer must pay that adjusted AEWR upon the effective
date of the new rate, as provided in the applicable Federal Register
Notice. See 20 CFR 655.122(l) (requiring the applicable AEWR or other
wage rate to be paid based on the AEWR or rate in effect ``at the time
work is performed'').
On November 5, 2020, DOL published a final rule, Adverse Effect
Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A
Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States, 85 FR
70445 (2020 AEWR Final Rule), to establish a new methodology for
setting hourly AEWRs, effective December 21, 2020. However, on December
23, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of
California issued an order enjoining DOL from implementing the 2020
AEWR Final Rule and ordering DOL to set the hourly AEWRs using the
methodology set forth in the Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A
Aliens in the United States, 75 FR 6884 (Feb. 12, 2010) (2010 H-2A
Final Rule). See Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for a Preliminary
Injunction, United Farm Workers, et al. v. U.S. Dep't of Labor, et al.,
No. 20-cv-1690 (E.D. Cal.), ECF No. 37. Pursuant to that order, DOL has
used the methodology set forth in the 2010 H-2A Final Rule to determine
the 2022 AEWRs.
Accordingly, the 2022 AEWRs for all agricultural employment (except
for the herding or production of livestock on the range, which is
covered by 20 CFR 655.200 through 655.235) for which temporary H-2A
certification is being sought is equal to the annual weighted average
hourly wage rate for field and livestock workers (combined) in the
state or region as published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) in the November 24, 2021 Farm Labor Report. The 2010 H-2A Final
Rule, 20 CFR 655.120(c), requires that the Administrator of the Office
of Foreign Labor Certification publish the USDA field and livestock
worker (combined) wage data as AEWRs in a Federal Register Notice.
Accordingly, the 2022 AEWRs to be paid for agricultural work performed
by H-2A and workers in corresponding employment on and after the
effective date of this notice are set forth in the table below:
Table--2022 Adverse Effect Wage Rates
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State 2022 AEWRs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama................................................. $11.99
Arizona................................................. 14.79
Arkansas................................................ 12.45
California.............................................. 17.51
Colorado................................................ 15.58
Connecticut............................................. 15.66
Delaware................................................ 15.54
Florida................................................. 12.41
Georgia................................................. 11.99
Hawaii.................................................. 16.54
Idaho................................................... 14.68
Illinois................................................ 15.89
Indiana................................................. 15.89
Iowa.................................................... 16.19
Kansas.................................................. 16.47
Kentucky................................................ 13.89
Louisiana............................................... 12.45
Maine................................................... 15.66
Maryland................................................ 15.54
Massachusetts........................................... 15.66
Michigan................................................ 15.37
Minnesota............................................... 15.37
[[Page 71283]]
Mississippi............................................. 12.45
Missouri................................................ 16.19
Montana................................................. 14.68
Nebraska................................................ 16.47
Nevada.................................................. 15.58
New Hampshire........................................... 15.66
New Jersey.............................................. 15.54
New Mexico.............................................. 14.79
New York................................................ 15.66
North Carolina.......................................... 14.16
North Dakota............................................ 16.47
Ohio.................................................... 15.89
Oklahoma................................................ 13.88
Oregon.................................................. 17.41
Pennsylvania............................................ 15.54
Rhode Island............................................ 15.66
South Carolina.......................................... 11.99
South Dakota............................................ 16.47
Tennessee............................................... 13.89
Texas................................................... 13.88
Utah.................................................... 15.58
Vermont................................................. 15.66
Virginia................................................ 14.16
Washington.............................................. 17.41
West Virginia........................................... 13.89
Wisconsin............................................... 15.37
Wyoming................................................. 14.68
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Authority: 20 CFR 655.120(c).
Angela Hanks,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2021-27119 Filed 12-14-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P
</pre></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 15, 2021.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.