[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69768-69769]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27409]


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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: 2020 Adverse Effect Wage 
Rate for 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 
2020 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 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, 2020.

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 United States 
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 2020

    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 2020, ETA applied the required ECI adjustment of 3.0 
percent to the monthly AEWR for range occupations in effect for 2019, 
resulting in a monthly wage of $1,682.33. The 12-month change in the 
ECI for wages and salaries of private industry workers between 
September 2018 and September 2019 was 3.0 percent.\1\ Thus, the 
national

[[Page 69769]]

monthly AEWR rate for all range occupations in the H-2A program in 2020 
is calculated by multiplying the monthly AEWR for calendar year 2019 by 
the October 2019 ECI adjustment ($1,633.33 x 1.030 = 1,682.33) or 
$1,682.33. 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 $1,682.33, 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, 2019, 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.

John Pallasch,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
[FR Doc. 2019-27409 Filed 12-18-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P