This January, the Department of Labor instituted the OES system with the goal of creating centralization and uniformity of these wage surveys among the fifty states. Previously, the Department's methodology tracked market behavior accurately, but the new method results in artificially high wage rate determinations that are nearly impossible for institutions to pay since the amounts paid in salary are frequently limited by federal government agency policy. In some instances, the Department of Labor surveys have determined salaries for post-doctorate researchers to be twice or three times the level paid by academia in prior years. Salary comparisons between academia and industry are difficult to make because of structural differences like 9 month versus 12 month basis, fringe benefits, etc. It is very important to remember that stipends or reimbursements for researchers at academic and non-profit institutions are frequently established by specific grants of federal agencies.
Institutions routinely supplement such grants with funding from other sources.
However, the NIH has set a specific pay schedule for grants upon which most schools operate. Therefore, under federal grants, institutions must use money from other campus accounts to supplement payments from the federal grant. In many cases, institutions are simply unable to pay these new higher rates. The OES system combined with the effect of the Hathaway decision have the potential to seriously disrupt academic research. As you know, the 1990 Immigration Act set specific numerical levels for H-1B workers on a yearly basis.