Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 239 / Thursday, December 14, 2023 / Notices 86679 

1The regulation at 20 CFR 655.211(c)(2) states 

that the monthly AEWR is calculated based on the 

ECI for wages and salaries ‘‘for the preceding 

October—October period.’’ This regulatory language 

was intended to identify the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics’ (BLS) October publication of ECI for 

wages and salaries, which presents data for the 

September-to-September period. Accordingly, the 

most recent 12-month change in the ECI for private 

sector workers published on October 31, 2023, by 

BLS was used for establishing the monthly AEWR 

under the regulations. See https://www.bls.gov/ 

news.release/archives/eci_10312023.pdf. The ECI 

for private sector workers was used rather than the 

ECI for all civilian workers given the characteristics 

of the H–2A herder workforce. 

simple average is calculated by finding 

the sum of the AEWRs listed in the table 

above, then dividing by the total 

number of AEWRs, which is currently 

49 ($831.98/49 = $16.98). On and after 

the effective date of this notice, the 

average AEWR to be used to calculate 

the bond amounts required under 20 

CFR 655.132(c)(2) is $16.98. 

Authority: 20 CFR 655.120(b)(2); 20 

CFR 655.103(b). 

Lenita Jacobs-Simmons, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment 

and Training, Labor. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27435 Filed 12–13–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FP–P 

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 Rate for 

Range Occupations in 2024 

AGENCY: Employment and Training 

Administration, Department of Labor. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Employment and 

Training Administration of the 

Department of Labor (DOL) is issuing 

this notice to announce the 2024 

Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for 

the employment of temporary or 

seasonal nonimmigrant foreign workers 

(H–2A workers) to perform herding or 

production of livestock on the range. 

AEWRs are the minimum wage rates 

DOL has determined must be offered, 

advertised in recruitment, 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 the annual update of 

the AEWR for workers engaged in the 

herding or production of livestock on 

the range, as required by the 

methodology previously established in 

2015. 

DATES: The rate is effective January 1, 

2024. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Brian Pasternak, Administrator, Office 

of Foreign Labor Certification, 

Employment and Training 

Administration, Department of Labor, 

N–5311, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, 

Washington, DC 20210, Telephone: 

(202) 693–8200 (this is not a toll-free 

number). Individuals with hearing or 

speech impairments may access the 

telephone number above via TTY by 

calling the toll-free Federal Information 

Relay Service at 1 (877) 889–5627 (TTY/ 

TDD). 

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 H–2A 

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 

for which the employer desires to hire 

temporary foreign workers; 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 Rate for 2024 

DOL’s H–2A regulations covering the 

herding or production of livestock on 

the range, published in the Federal 

Register as the Temporary Agricultural 

Employment of H–2A Foreign Workers 

in the Herding or Production of 

Livestock on the Range in the United 

States, 80 FR 62958 (Oct. 16, 2015), as 

amended by Adjudication of Temporary 

and Seasonal Need for Herding and 

Production of Livestock on the Range 

Applications Under the H–2A Program, 

86 FR 71373 (Dec. 16, 2021), provide 

that employers must offer, advertise in 

recruitment, and pay each worker 

employed under 20 CFR 655.200 

through 655.235 a wage that is at least 

the highest of (1) the monthly AEWR, 

(2) the agreed-upon collective 

bargaining wage, or (3) the applicable 

minimum wage imposed by Federal or 

State law or judicial action. See 20 CFR 

655.210(g); 655.211(a)(1). Further, when 

the monthly AEWR is adjusted during a 

work contract and is higher than both 

the agreed-upon collective bargaining 

wage and the applicable minimum wage 

imposed by Federal or State law or 

judicial action in effect at the time the 

work is performed, the employer must 

pay that adjusted monthly AEWR upon 

the effective date published by DOL in 

the Federal Register. See 20 CFR 

655.211(a)(2). 

As provided in 20 CFR 655.211(c)(2), 

the monthly AEWR for range 

occupations in all States for a calendar 

year is based on the monthly AEWR for 

the previous calendar year ($1,901.21 in 

2023), adjusted by the Employment Cost 

Index (ECI) for wages and salaries 

published by the Bureau of Labor 

Statistics for the preceding October— 

October period. The 12-month change in 

the ECI for wages and salaries of private 

industry workers between September 

2022 and September 2023 was 4.5 

percent, resulting in a monthly AEWR 

for range occupations in calendar year 

2024 of $1,986.76.1 The national 

monthly AEWR rate for all range 

occupations in the H–2A program in 

2024 is calculated by multiplying the 

monthly AEWR for calendar year 2023 

by the October 2023 ECI adjustment 

($1,901.21 × 1.045 = $1,986.76) or 

$1,986.76. Accordingly, any employer 

certified or seeking certification for 

range workers must offer, advertise in 

recruitment, and pay each worker a 

wage that is at least the highest of the 

monthly AEWR of $1,986.76, the 

agreed-upon collective bargaining wage, 

or the applicable minimum wage 

imposed by Federal or State law or 

judicial action at the time work is 

performed on or after the effective date 

of this notice. 

Authority: 20 CFR 655.211(b). 

Lenita Jacobs-Simmons, 

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Employment 

and Training, Labor. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27434 Filed 12–13–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4510–FP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission for OMB 

Review; Comment Request; PreHearing Statement (LS–18) 

ACTION: Notice of availability; request 

for comments. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Labor 

(DOL) is submitting this Office of 

Workers’ Compensation Programs 

(OWCP)-sponsored information 

collection request (ICR) to the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) for 


lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1