[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 244 (Thursday, December 21, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60628-60629]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27528]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Employment of
Aliens in Agriculture in the United States: 2018 Adverse Effect Wage
Rates for Non-Range Occupations
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the
Department of Labor (Department) is issuing this notice to announce the
2018 Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) 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 U.S. workers
will not be adversely affected. In this notice, the Department
announces the annual update of the AEWRs.
DATE: This notice is applicable January 4, 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William W. Thompson, II,
Administrator, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, Box #12-200,
Employment & Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, Office
of Foreign Labor Certification, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20210. Telephone: 202-513-7350 (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.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: As a condition precedent to receiving an H-
2A visa, employers must first obtain a labor certification from the
Department of Labor. 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 U.S.
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 2018
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, if applicable; or (v) the Federal or
State minimum wage rate, in effect at the time the work is performed.
Except as otherwise provided in 20 CFR part 655, subpart B, the
region-wide 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 United States 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 2018 AEWRs to be paid for agricultural work performed
by H-2A and U.S. workers on or after the applicable date of this notice
are set forth in the table below:
Table--2018 Adverse Effect Wage Rates
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State 2018 AEWRs
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Alabama................................................. $10.95
Arizona................................................. 10.46
Arkansas................................................ 10.73
California.............................................. 13.18
Colorado................................................ 10.69
Connecticut............................................. 12.83
Delaware................................................ 12.05
Florida................................................. 11.29
Georgia................................................. 10.95
Hawaii.................................................. 14.37
Idaho................................................... 11.63
Illinois................................................ 12.93
Indiana................................................. 12.93
Iowa.................................................... 13.42
Kansas.................................................. 13.64
Kentucky................................................ 11.19
Louisiana............................................... 10.73
Maine................................................... 12.83
Maryland................................................ 12.05
Massachusetts........................................... 12.83
Michigan................................................ 13.06
Minnesota............................................... 13.06
Mississippi............................................. 10.73
[[Page 60629]]
Missouri................................................ 13.42
Montana................................................. 11.63
Nebraska................................................ 13.64
Nevada.................................................. 10.69
New Hampshire........................................... 12.83
New Jersey.............................................. 12.05
New Mexico.............................................. 10.46
New York................................................ 12.83
North Carolina.......................................... 11.46
North Dakota............................................ 13.64
Ohio.................................................... 12.93
Oklahoma................................................ 11.87
Oregon.................................................. 14.12
Pennsylvania............................................ 12.05
Rhode Island............................................ 12.83
South Carolina.......................................... 10.95
South Dakota............................................ 13.64
Tennessee............................................... 11.19
Texas................................................... 11.87
Utah.................................................... 10.69
Vermont................................................. 12.83
Virginia................................................ 11.46
Washington.............................................. 14.12
West Virginia........................................... 11.19
Wisconsin............................................... 13.06
Wyoming................................................. 11.63
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Pursuant to the H-2A regulations at 20 CFR 655.173, the Department
will publish a separate Federal Register notice in early 2018 to
announce (1) the allowable charges for 2018 that employers seeking H-2A
workers may charge their workers for providing them three meals a day;
and (2) the maximum travel subsistence reimbursement which a worker
with receipts may claim in 2018. 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
2018.
Rosemary Lahasky,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-27528 Filed 12-20-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P