[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]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \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]
 BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P