[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 245 (Friday, December 22, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60767-60768]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-27530]


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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: Adverse Effect Wage Rate 
for Range Occupations in 2018

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the

[[Page 60768]]

Department of Labor (Department) is issuing this notice to announce the 
2018 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 U.S. workers 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 rates take effect January 1, 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, 200 
Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210. Telephone number: 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: 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 from the Department an H-2A labor certification. 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 Rate for 2018

    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: (i) The monthly 
AEWR, (ii) the agreed-upon collective bargaining wage, or (iii) 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) of the H-2A Herder Rule, the 
methodology for establishing the monthly AEWR for range occupations in 
all states is based on the rate of $7.25/hour multiplied by 48 hours 
per week, and then multiplied by 4.333 weeks per month. Beginning with 
calendar year 2017, the monthly AEWR is adjusted annually based on 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 2017, ETA applied the required ECI 
adjustment of 2.4 percent, resulting in a monthly wage of $1544.07. The 
H-2A Herder Rule at 20 CFR 655.211(d) applied a two-year transition to 
the full monthly AEWR, with the wage in 2017 set at 90 percent of the 
full monthly AEWR, i.e., $1,389.67/month. For calendar year 2018, the 
Department is setting the national monthly AEWR at 100 percent of the 
full wage calculated using the H-2A Herder Rule methodology. The 12-
month change in the ECI for wages and salaries of private industry 
workers between September 2016 and September 2017 was 2.6 percent. To 
set the AEWR for 2018, ETA used that ECI percentage to adjust what 
would have been the full monthly AEWR for calendar year 2017 if the 
2017 rate had not been reduced to 90 percent of the wage due to the 
transition period.\1\
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    \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, 2017 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.
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    Thus, the national monthly AEWR rate for all range occupations in 
the H-2A program in 2018 is calculated by multiplying the full AEWR for 
calendar year 2017 by the 2018 ECI adjustment ($1544.07 x 1.026 = 
$1,584.22). 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 $1,548.22, 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.

    Signed in Washington, DC.
Rosemary Lahasky,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2017-27530 Filed 12-21-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P