```

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 241 (Monday, December 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 101628-101630]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-29549]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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

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 updates to the 
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, 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. The AEWRs 
established in this notice are applicable to H-2A job opportunities 
classified: in six Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes 
comprising the field and livestock workers (combined) category, and in 
the field and livestock workers (combined) occupational category that 
are located in States or regions, or equivalent districts or 
territories, in which the United States Department of Agriculture's 
(USDA) Farm Labor Report (better known as the Farm Labor Survey, or 
FLS) reports wages. In this notice, DOL also announces an update to the 
average AEWR, which is used to calculate adjustments to required bond 
amounts for H-2A Labor Contractors.

DATES: These rates are effective December 16, 2024. However, for 
entities and states subject to the court order in Kansas et. al. v. 
U.S. Department of Labor, these rates are effective December 30, 2024.

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). For persons with a hearing or speech disability who need 
assistance to use the telephone system, please dial 711 to access 
telecommunications relay services.

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. DOL issues such labor 
certification when it

[[Page 101629]]

determines 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.

FLS-Based AEWR Updates

    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 the various wage sources listed in Sec.  
655.120(a), including the AEWR. Further, when the AEWR is updated 
during a work contract, the employer must pay at least that updated 
AEWR upon the effective date of the new AEWR, if the updated AEWR is 
higher than the highest of the previous AEWR, a prevailing wage rate 
for the crop activity or agricultural activity and, if applicable, a 
distinct work task or tasks performed in that activity and geographic 
area, the agreed-upon collective bargaining wage, the Federal minimum 
wage rate, or the State minimum wage rate. See 20 CFR 655.120(b)(3). 
Similarly, when the AEWR is updated during a work contract and is lower 
than the wage rate that is guaranteed on the job order, the employer 
must continue to pay at least the wage rate guaranteed on the job 
order. See 20 CFR 655.120(b)(4).
    Pursuant to the final rule, Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology 
for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range 
Occupations in the United States, 88 FR 12760 (Feb. 28, 2023), most 
AEWRs will continue to be based, as they have been since 1987, on the 
USDA FLS. AEWRs based on DOL's Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) 
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey will apply to 
H-2A job opportunities classified: (1) in SOC codes other than the six 
SOC codes comprising the field and livestock workers (combined) 
category, and (2) in the field and livestock workers (combined) 
occupational category that are located in States or regions, or 
equivalent districts or territories, for which the USDA FLS does not 
report a wage.\1\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ In the event an employer's job opportunity requires the 
performance of agricultural labor or services that are not 
encompassed in a single SOC code's description and tasks, the 
applicable AEWR will be the highest AEWR for all applicable SOCs. 
See 20 CFR 655.120(b)(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The final rule, noted above, requires the OFLC Administrator to 
publish a Federal Register Notice at least once in each calendar year 
to establish each set of AEWRs. See 20 CFR 655.120(b)(2). The OFLC 
Administrator provides this notice by publishing two separate 
announcements in the Federal Register, one to update the non-range 
AEWRs based on the wage data reported by the USDA's FLS and a second to 
update the non-range AEWRs based on data reported by the BLS OEWS 
survey. See 88 FR at 12775.
    The updated AEWRs for all non-range agricultural employment 
classified in the field and livestock workers (combined) category, 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 USDA in 
the November 20, 2024, FLS. DOL's regulation, 20 CFR 655.120(b)(2), 
requires that the OFLC Administrator publish the USDA field and 
livestock worker (combined) wage data as AEWRs in a Federal Register 
Notice. Accordingly, the updated 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--Adverse Effect Wage Rates for Field and Livestock Workers
                               [Combined]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         State AEWRs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama......................................................     $16.08
Arizona......................................................      17.04
Arkansas.....................................................      14.83
California...................................................      19.97
Colorado.....................................................      17.84
Connecticut..................................................      18.83
Delaware.....................................................      17.96
Florida......................................................      16.23
Georgia......................................................      16.08
Hawaii.......................................................      20.08
Idaho........................................................      16.83
Illinois.....................................................      19.57
Indiana......................................................      19.57
Iowa.........................................................      18.65
Kansas.......................................................      19.21
Kentucky.....................................................      15.87
Louisiana....................................................      14.83
Maine........................................................      18.83
Maryland.....................................................      17.96
Massachusetts................................................      18.83
Michigan.....................................................      18.15
Minnesota....................................................      18.15
Mississippi..................................................      14.83
Missouri.....................................................      18.65
Montana......................................................      16.83
Nebraska.....................................................      19.21
Nevada.......................................................      17.84
New Hampshire................................................      18.83
New Jersey...................................................      17.96
New Mexico...................................................      17.04
New York.....................................................      18.83
North Carolina...............................................      16.16
North Dakota.................................................      19.21
Ohio.........................................................      19.57
Oklahoma.....................................................      15.79
Oregon.......................................................      19.82
Pennsylvania.................................................      17.96
Rhode Island.................................................      18.83
South Carolina...............................................      16.08
South Dakota.................................................      19.21
Tennessee....................................................      15.87
Texas........................................................      15.79
Utah.........................................................      17.84
Vermont......................................................      18.83
Virginia.....................................................      16.16
Washington...................................................      19.82
West Virginia................................................      15.87
Wisconsin....................................................      18.15
Wyoming......................................................      16.83
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The AEWRs set forth in the table above are the AEWRs applicable to 
the following SOC titles and codes: Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, 
Nursery, and Greenhouse (45-2092); Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and 
Aquacultural Animals (45-2093); Agricultural Equipment Operators (45-
2091); Packers and Packagers, Hand (53-7064); Graders and Sorters, 
Agricultural Products (45-2041); and All Other Agricultural Workers 
(45-2099). These AEWRs are published by the OFLC Administrator in 
accordance with 20 CFR 655.120(b)(2). Accordingly, the simple average 
of these AEWRs constitutes the average AEWR. See 20 CFR 655.103(b) 
(definition of average AEWR). The 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 ($869.20/49 = 
$17.74). 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)(ii) is $17.74.

Delayed Effective Date With Respect to Certain States and Entities

    On April 29, 2024, DOL published the final rule, Improving 
Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the 
United States, 89 FR 33898 (Apr. 29, 2024) (``Farmworker Protection 
Rule''). The Farmworker Protection Rule amended the regulation at 20 
CFR 655.120(b)(2) to state that

[[Page 101630]]

``[t]he updated AEWR will be effective as of the date of publication of 
the notice in the Federal Register.'' On August 26, 2024, the United 
States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia issued a 
preliminary injunction in the case Kansas, et al. v. U.S. Department of 
Labor, No. 2:24-cv-00076-LGW-BWC (S.D. Ga., Aug. 26, 2024) 
(``Kansas''), prohibiting DOL from enforcing the Farmworker Protection 
Rule in certain states and with respect to certain entities. The 
preliminary injunction specifically prohibits DOL from enforcing the 
Farmworker Protection Rule in the states of Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, 
Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, 
North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, 
and against Miles Berry Farm and members of the Georgia Fruit and 
Vegetable Growers Association as of August 26, 2024.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Neither the preliminary injunction issued in Barton, et al. 
v. U.S. Department of Labor, et al., No. 5:24-cv-249-DCR (E.D. Ky., 
Nov. 25, 2024), nor the Section 705 stay issued in International 
Fresh Produce Association, et al. v. U.S. Department of Labor, et 
al., No. 1:24-cv-309-HSO-BWR (S.D. Miss., Nov. 25, 2024) affect 
DOL's implementation or enforcement of 20 CFR 655.120(b)(2) as to 
the parties or entities subject to those orders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Therefore, for work performed at places of employment located in 
Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, 
Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, 
Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, as well as for work performed by Miles 
Berry Farm and members of the Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers 
Association as of August 26, 2024, the effective date of this Federal 
Register Notice is December 30, 2024. As an example, for work performed 
at places of employment located in Missouri, a state subject to the 
Kansas Order, this Federal Register Notice would be effective on 
December 30, 2024, but for work performed at places of employment 
located in Illinois, a state not subject to the Kansas Order, this 
Federal Register Notice would be effective December 16, 2024.
    Authority: 20 CFR 655.120(b)(2); 20 CFR 655.103(b).

Jos[eacute] Javier Rodr[iacute]guez,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2024-29549 Filed 12-11-24; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P
```