Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States
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.
What this means
- This rule has been in effect since 2025-10-02. (effectiveAt)
- The document names H-2A temporary agricultural, H-1B specialty occupation. It may identify others — read the original to be sure. (impact.stated (partial))
- The document states a requirement for the people it covers. The exact wording is quoted above — whether it applies to any particular person depends on facts this platform does not have. (impact.actionRequired)
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Who is affected
What the document says may be required
The document states a requirement for those it covers. The exact obligation, and whether it applies to a particular person, depends on the document's own terms — the relevant passage is quoted below.
“…seeking to import foreign nationals to work in various crop activities (in that case, under the Bracero program) were required to pay not less than a wage established by DOL.'' \19\ The AEWR as a formal concept in the H-2 program was introduced in 1963, at which point the AEWR initially was based on the Census of Agriculture's average earnings for each state, which was conducted by the U.S.”
This list may be incomplete — the document may identify others. Read the original. Assembled from the source document, not from anyone's individual circumstances. Whether a change applies to a specific person depends on facts this platform does not have. This is data context, not legal advice.