[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69768-69769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27409]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Employment of
Aliens in Agriculture in the United States: 2020 Adverse Effect Wage
Rate for Range Occupations
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the
Department of Labor (Department) is issuing this notice to announce the
2020 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 the Department has determined must be offered and paid by
employers to H-2A workers and workers in corresponding employment so
that the wages and working conditions of similarly employed workers in
the United States will not be adversely affected. In this notice, the
Department 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 established in 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, 63067-63068 (Oct. 16, 2015);
20 CFR 655.211.
DATES: The rate is applicable January 1, 2020.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas M. Dowd, Deputy Assistant
Secretary, Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor,
Box #12-200, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20210, Telephone:
(202) 693-2772 (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 United States unless the
petitioner has received an H-2A labor certification from the
Department. The 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 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 United States
similarly employed. 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 2020
The Department's H-2A regulations covering the herding or
production of livestock on the range (H-2A Herder Rule) at 20 CFR
655.210(g) and 655.211(a)(1) provide that employers must offer,
advertise in recruitment, and pay each worker employed under 20 CFR
655.200-655.235 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. 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 publication by the
Department in the Federal Register. 20 CFR 655.211(a)(2).
As provided in 20 CFR 655.211(c)(2) of the H-2A Herder Rule, the
monthly AEWR for range occupations in all states for a calendar year is
based on the monthly AEWR for the previous calendar year, adjusted by
the Employment Cost Index (ECI) for wages and salaries published by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics for the preceding annual period. In setting
the AEWR for 2020, ETA applied the required ECI adjustment of 3.0
percent to the monthly AEWR for range occupations in effect for 2019,
resulting in a monthly wage of $1,682.33. The 12-month change in the
ECI for wages and salaries of private industry workers between
September 2018 and September 2019 was 3.0 percent.\1\ Thus, the
national
[[Page 69769]]
monthly AEWR rate for all range occupations in the H-2A program in 2020
is calculated by multiplying the monthly AEWR for calendar year 2019 by
the October 2019 ECI adjustment ($1,633.33 x 1.030 = 1,682.33) or
$1,682.33. Accordingly, any employer certified or seeking certification
for range workers must pay each worker a wage that is at least the
highest of the monthly AEWR of $1,682.33, the agreed-upon collective
bargaining wage, or the applicable minimum wage imposed by federal or
state legislation or judicial action at the time work is performed on
or after the effective date of this notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 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'
October publication of ECI for wages and salaries, which presents
data for the September--September period. Accordingly, the most
recent 12-month change in the ECI for private sector workers
published on October 31, 2019, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics was
used for establishing the monthly AEWR under the regulations. See
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/eci.htm. 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.
John Pallasch,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
[FR Doc. 2019-27409 Filed 12-18-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P