[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66306-66307]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-28030]
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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: 2019 Adverse Effect Wage
Rates for Non-Range Occupations
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration (ETA), 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
2019 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 (U.S.) will not be adversely affected. In this notice,
the Department announces the annual update of the AEWRs.
DATES: These rates are applicable January 9, 2019.
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: 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 2019
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.
The AEWR for all agricultural employment (except for the herding or
production of livestock on the range, which is covered by 20 CFR
655.200-655.235) 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 2019 AEWRs to be paid for agricultural work performed
by H-2A and U.S. workers on or after the effective date of this notice
are set forth in the table below:
Table--2019 Adverse Effect Wage Rates
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State 2019 AEWRs
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Alabama................................................. $11.13
Arizona................................................. 12.00
Arkansas................................................ 11.33
California.............................................. 13.92
Colorado................................................ 13.13
Connecticut............................................. 13.25
Delaware................................................ 13.15
Florida................................................. 11.24
Georgia................................................. 11.13
Hawaii.................................................. 14.73
Idaho................................................... 13.48
Illinois................................................ 13.26
Indiana................................................. 13.26
Iowa.................................................... 13.34
Kansas.................................................. 14.38
Kentucky................................................ 11.63
Louisiana............................................... 11.33
Maine................................................... 13.25
Maryland................................................ 13.15
Massachusetts........................................... 13.25
Michigan................................................ 13.54
Minnesota............................................... 13.54
Mississippi............................................. 11.33
Missouri................................................ 13.34
Montana................................................. 13.48
Nebraska................................................ 14.38
Nevada.................................................. 13.13
New Hampshire........................................... 13.25
New Jersey.............................................. 13.15
New Mexico.............................................. 12.00
New York................................................ 13.25
North Carolina.......................................... 12.25
North Dakota............................................ 14.38
[[Page 66307]]
Ohio.................................................... 13.26
Oklahoma................................................ 12.23
Oregon.................................................. 15.03
Pennsylvania............................................ 13.15
Rhode Island............................................ 13.25
South Carolina.......................................... 11.13
South Dakota............................................ 14.38
Tennessee............................................... 11.63
Texas................................................... 12.23
Utah.................................................... 13.13
Vermont................................................. 13.25
Virginia................................................ 12.25
Washington.............................................. 15.03
West Virginia........................................... 11.63
Wisconsin............................................... 13.54
Wyoming................................................. 13.48
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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 2019 to
announce: (1) The allowable charges for 2019 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 2019. 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
2019.
Molly E. Conway,
Acting Assistant Secretary for the Employment and Training
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2018-28030 Filed 12-20-18; 11:15 am]
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