[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 246 (Wednesday, December 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 66307]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-28031]
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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 2019
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 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 (U.S.) 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, 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: 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 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 2019
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 2019, ETA applied the required ECI adjustment of 3.1
percent to the monthly AEWR for range occupations in effect for 2018,
resulting in a monthly wage of $1,633.33. The 12-month change in the
ECI for wages and salaries of private industry workers between
September 2017 and September 2018 was 3.1 percent.\1\ Thus, the
national monthly AEWR rate for all range occupations in the H-2A
program in 2019 is calculated by multiplying the monthly AEWR for
calendar year 2018 by the October 2018 ECI adjustment ($1,584.22 x
1.031 = 1,633.33) or $1,633.33. 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 $1,633.33, 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.
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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, 2018, 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.
Molly E. Conway,
Acting Assistant Secretary for the Employment and Training
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2018-28031 Filed 12-20-18; 11:15 am]
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