[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 244 (Thursday, December 19, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69774-69775]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-27410]


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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 
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 
2020 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 will not be adversely affected. In this 
notice, the Department announces the annual update of the AEWRs.

DATES: These rates are applicable January 2, 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 Rates for 2020

    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. Further, when 
the AEWR is adjusted during a work contract and is higher than the 
highest of the previous AEWR, the prevailing hourly wage rate, the 
prevailing piece rate, the agreed-upon collective bargaining wage, the 
Federal minimum wage rate, or the state minimum wage rate, the employer 
must pay that adjusted AEWR upon the effective date of the new rate, as 
provided in the applicable Federal Register Notice. See 20 CFR 
655.122(l) (requiring the applicable AEWR or other wage rate to be paid 
based on the AEWR or rate in effect ``at the time 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 
655.200-235) 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 U.S. 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 2020 AEWRs to be paid for agricultural work performed 
by H-2A and U.S. workers on and after the effective date of this notice 
are set forth in the table below:

                  Table--2020 Adverse Effect Wage Rates
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                          State                             2020 AEWRs
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Alabama.................................................          $11.71
Arizona.................................................           12.91
Arkansas................................................           11.83
California..............................................           14.77
Colorado................................................           14.26
Connecticut.............................................           14.29
Delaware................................................           13.34
Florida.................................................           11.71
Georgia.................................................           11.71
Hawaii..................................................           14.90
Idaho...................................................           13.62
Illinois................................................           14.52
Indiana.................................................           14.52
Iowa....................................................           14.58
Kansas..................................................           14.99
Kentucky................................................           12.40
Louisiana...............................................           11.83
Maine...................................................           14.29
Maryland................................................           13.34
Massachusetts...........................................           14.29
Michigan................................................           14.40
Minnesota...............................................           14.40
Mississippi.............................................           11.83
Missouri................................................           14.58
Montana.................................................           13.62
Nebraska................................................           14.99
Nevada..................................................           14.26
New Hampshire...........................................           14.29
New Jersey..............................................           13.34
New Mexico..............................................           12.91
New York................................................           14.29
North Carolina..........................................           12.67
North Dakota............................................           14.99

[[Page 69775]]

 
Ohio....................................................           14.52
Oklahoma................................................           12.67
Oregon..................................................           15.83
Pennsylvania............................................           13.34
Rhode Island............................................           14.29
South Carolina..........................................           11.71
South Dakota............................................           14.99
Tennessee...............................................           12.40
Texas...................................................           12.67
Utah....................................................           14.26
Vermont.................................................           14.29
Virginia................................................           12.67
Washington..............................................           15.83
West Virginia...........................................           12.40
Wisconsin...............................................           14.40
Wyoming.................................................           13.62
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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 2020 to 
announce: (1) The allowable charges for 2020 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 2020. 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 
2020.

John Pallasch,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training.
[FR Doc. 2019-27410 Filed 12-18-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P