Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States

<RULE> DEPARTMENT OF LABOR <SUBAGY>Employment and Training Administration</SUBAGY> <CFR>20 CFR Part 655</CFR> <DEPDOC>[DOL Docket No. ETA-2025-0008]</DEPDOC> <RIN>RIN 1205-AC24</RIN> <SUBJECT>Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor. <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Interim final rule, request for comments. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is issuing this interim final rule (IFR) to amend its regulations governing the certification of agricultural labor or services to be performed by temporary foreign workers in H-2A nonimmigrant status (H-2A workers). Specifically, the Department is revising the methodology for determining the hourly Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) for non-range occupations by using wage data reported for each U.S. state and territory by the Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. For the vast majority of H-2A job opportunities, the Department will use OEWS survey data to establish AEWRs applicable to five Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes combining the most common field and livestock worker occupations previously measured by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Farm Labor Survey (FLS), which covered six SOC codes. These AEWRs will be divided into two skill-based categories to account for wage differentials arising from qualifications contained in the employer's job offer. For all other occupations, the Department will use the OEWS survey to determine two skill-based AEWRs for each SOC code to reflect wage differentials. The threshold determination for assigning the SOC code(s) and applicable skill-based AEWR will be based on the duties performed for the majority of the workdays during the contract period and qualifications contained in the employer's job offer. Finally, to address differences in compensation between most U.S. workers and H-2A workers who receive employer-provided housing at no cost, the Department will implement a standard adjustment factor to the AEWR to account for this non-monetary compensation that employers will apply when compensating H-2A workers under temporary agricultural labor certifications. </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> This rule is effective October 2, 2025. Interested persons are invited to submit written comments on this rule on or before December 1, 2025. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> You may submit comments electronically by the following method: <E T="03">Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov.</E> Follow the instructions on the website for submitting comments. <E T="03">Instructions:</E> Comments should be confined to issues pertinent to the interim final rule, identify the agency's name and public docket number ETA-2025-0008, explain the reasons for any recommended changes, and reference the specific section and wording being addressed, where possible. Please be advised that the Department will post comments received that relate to this interim final rule to <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov,</E> including any personal information provided. The <E T="03">https://www.regulations.gov</E> website is the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal and all comments posted there are available and accessible to the public. Please do not submit comments containing trade secrets, confidential or proprietary commercial or financial information, personal health information, sensitive personally identifiable information (for example, social security numbers, driver's license or state identification numbers, passport numbers, or financial account numbers), or other information that you do not want to be made available to the public. Should the agency become aware of such information, the agency reserves the right to redact or refrain from posting sensitive information, libelous, or otherwise inappropriate comments, including those that contain obscene, indecent, or profane language; that contain threats or defamatory statements; or that contain hate speech. Please note that depending on how information is submitted, the agency may not be able to redact the information and instead reserves the right to refrain from posting the information or comment in such situations. <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> For further information regarding 20 CFR part 655, contact Brian Pasternak, Administrator, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-5311, Washington, DC 20210, email: <E T="03">OFLC.Regulations@dol.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Contents</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">I. Background</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Legal Authority</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. The Role of AEWRs in the H-2A Program</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Brief History of AEWR Methodologies</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Recent Rulemaking and Litigation</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">II. Good Cause Justification and Need for This IFR</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. The Good Cause Exception Under the APA, and the Two Separate and Independently Sufficient Bases for the Department's Invocation of the Good Cause Exception</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. First, The Good Cause Exception Is Independently Supported Due to the Current Widespread and Novel Economic Hardship Faced by the Regulated Community</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Background Regarding the Labor Market for Agricultural Work</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Economic Forecasting Regarding Food Prices and Availability</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. The Flaws in the AEWR Wage Policy That Restrict Labor Supply and Need for a New AEWR Methodology</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Second, The Good Cause Exception Is Separately and Independently Supported by the Discontinuation of the FLS by the Department of Agriculture and the Court Ordered Vacatur of the 2023 AEWR Final Rule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">III. Implementation of This IFR</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">IV. Discussion of Changes to the AEWR Methodology</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. The Department Will Use the OEWS To Determine Skill-Based AEWRs for all Job Opportunities</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. The Department Will Determine the AEWRs at Two Skill Levels To Better Reflect the Average Wages Paid to U.S. Workers Similarly Employed</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. The Department Will Assess the Duties and Qualifications of the Employer's Job Offer When Assigning the Most Applicable SOC Code(s) and Establishing the AEWR</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Consideration of Duties Performed for the Majority of the Workdays During the Contract Period</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Additional Guidance on Assigning SOC Codes Based on the Duties and Qualifications in the Employer's Job Opportunity</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. The Department Will Determine a Single AEWR Covering the Five Most Common Field and Livestock Worker (Combined) Occupations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. The Department Will Determine a SOC-Specific AEWR for all Other Occupations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. The Department Will Establish a Standard AEWR Adjustment To Account for Non-Wage Compensation Benefits Provided to H-2A Workers</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. The Department Will Publish OEWS-Based AEWRs To Coincide With the BLS Publication Schedule</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. The Department Requests Comments on All Aspects of Its Revised Methodology for Establishing the AEWRs</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">V. Severability</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-2">VI. Administrative Information</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">A. Executive Orders 12866 and 13563</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Introduction</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Summary of the Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2"> 3. Need for Regulation </FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">4. Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">a. Analysis Considerations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">b. Subject by Subject Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">c. Regulatory Alternatives</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">B. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">1. Why Action Is Being Considered</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">2. Objective of the IFR</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">3. Data Used To Estimate the Impact on Small Entities</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">4. Regulatory Costs and Cost Savings</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">a. Familiarization With Regulatory Change</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">b. Cost Savings</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">5. Method Used To Estimate the Impact on Small Entities</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">6. Estimated Impact of the IFR on Small Entities</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">C. Review Under the Paperwork Reduction Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">D. Review Under Executive Order 13132</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">E. Executive Order 13175 (Consultation and Coordination With Indian Tribal Governments)</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">F. Review Under Executive Order 12988</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">G. Review Under the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">H. Review Under Executive Order 12630</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">I. Review Under the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 1999</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP1-2">J. Review Under the Treasury and General Government Appropriations Act, 2001</FP> </EXTRACT> <HD SOURCE="HD1">Table of Acronyms and Abbreviations</HD> <EXTRACT> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">AEWR Adverse Effect Wage Rate</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">ALS Agricultural Labor Survey</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">BLS Bureau of Labor Statistics</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CFR Code of Federal Regulations</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CO Certifying Officer</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CPS Current Population Survey</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">CY calendar year</FP> <FP SOURCE="FP-1">DHS U.S. Department of Homeland Securi ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 388k characters. 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