[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69774-69775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27410]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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
Rates for Non-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 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 Department
has determined must be offered and paid by employers to H-2A workers
and workers in corresponding employment for a particular occupation and
area 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 AEWRs.
DATES: These rates are applicable January 2, 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 Rates for 2020
The Department'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: (i) The AEWR; (ii) the prevailing
hourly wage rate; (iii) the prevailing piece rate; (iv) the agreed-upon
collective bargaining wage rate; or (v) the federal or state minimum
wage rate in effect at the time the work is performed. Further, when
the AEWR is adjusted during a work contract and is higher than the
highest of the previous AEWR, the prevailing hourly wage rate, the
prevailing piece rate, the agreed-upon collective bargaining wage, the
Federal minimum wage rate, or the state minimum wage rate, the employer
must pay that adjusted AEWR upon the effective date of the new rate, as
provided in the applicable Federal Register Notice. See 20 CFR
655.122(l) (requiring the applicable AEWR or other wage rate to be paid
based on the AEWR or rate in effect ``at the time work is performed'').
The AEWR for all agricultural employment (except for the herding or
production of livestock on the range, which is covered by 20 CFR
655.200-235) 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
annually by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). 20 CFR
655.120(c) requires that the Administrator of the Office of Foreign
Labor Certification publish the USDA field and livestock worker
(combined) wage data as AEWRs in a Federal Register Notice.
Accordingly, the 2020 AEWRs to be paid for agricultural work performed
by H-2A and U.S. workers on and after the effective date of this notice
are set forth in the table below:
Table--2020 Adverse Effect Wage Rates
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State 2020 AEWRs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama................................................. $11.71
Arizona................................................. 12.91
Arkansas................................................ 11.83
California.............................................. 14.77
Colorado................................................ 14.26
Connecticut............................................. 14.29
Delaware................................................ 13.34
Florida................................................. 11.71
Georgia................................................. 11.71
Hawaii.................................................. 14.90
Idaho................................................... 13.62
Illinois................................................ 14.52
Indiana................................................. 14.52
Iowa.................................................... 14.58
Kansas.................................................. 14.99
Kentucky................................................ 12.40
Louisiana............................................... 11.83
Maine................................................... 14.29
Maryland................................................ 13.34
Massachusetts........................................... 14.29
Michigan................................................ 14.40
Minnesota............................................... 14.40
Mississippi............................................. 11.83
Missouri................................................ 14.58
Montana................................................. 13.62
Nebraska................................................ 14.99
Nevada.................................................. 14.26
New Hampshire........................................... 14.29
New Jersey.............................................. 13.34
New Mexico.............................................. 12.91
New York................................................ 14.29
North Carolina.......................................... 12.67
North Dakota............................................ 14.99
[[Page 69775]]
Ohio.................................................... 14.52
Oklahoma................................................ 12.67
Oregon.................................................. 15.83
Pennsylvania............................................ 13.34
Rhode Island............................................ 14.29
South Carolina.......................................... 11.71
South Dakota............................................ 14.99
Tennessee............................................... 12.40
Texas................................................... 12.67
Utah.................................................... 14.26
Vermont................................................. 14.29
Virginia................................................ 12.67
Washington.............................................. 15.83
West Virginia........................................... 12.40
Wisconsin............................................... 14.40
Wyoming................................................. 13.62
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pursuant to the H-2A regulations at 20 CFR 655.173, the Department
will publish a separate Federal Register Notice in early 2020 to
announce: (1) The allowable charges for 2020 that employers seeking H-
2A workers may charge their workers for providing them three meals a
day; and (2) the maximum travel subsistence reimbursement that a worker
with receipts may claim in 2020. Also in a separate Federal Register
Notice, the Department will publish the monthly AEWR for workers
engaged to perform herding or production of livestock on the range for
2020.
John Pallasch,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
[FR Doc. 2019-27410 Filed 12-18-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P