[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 34 (Tuesday, February 23, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10996-10997]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-03752]


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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: 2021 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 
2021 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 updates of the AEWRs, which are 
effective immediately pursuant to a recent federal court order. 
Supplemental Order Regarding Preliminary Injunctive Relief, United Farm 
Workers, et al. v. U.S. Dep't of Labor, et al., No. 20-cv-1690 (E.D. 
Cal. Jan. 12, 2021), ECF No. 39.

DATES: These rates are applicable February 23, 2021.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Pasternak, Administrator, Office 
of Foreign Labor Certification, Employment and Training Administration, 
U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-5311, 
Washington, DC 20210, telephone: (202) 693-8200 (this is not a toll-
free number). Individuals with hearing or speech impairments may access 
the telephone numbers above via TTY/TDD by calling the toll-free 
Federal Information Relay Service at 1 (877) 889-5627.

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 2021

    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 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'').
    On November 5, 2020, the Department published a final rule, Adverse 
Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A 
Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States, 85 FR 
70445 (2020 AEWR final rule), to establish a new methodology for 
setting hourly AEWRs, effective December 21, 2020. On December 23, 
2020, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California 
issued an order enjoining the Department from implementing the 2020 
AEWR final rule and ordering the Department to operate under the 2010 
rule, Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United 
States, 75 FR 6884 (Feb. 12, 2010). Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion 
for a Preliminary Injunction, United Farm Workers, et al. v. U.S. Dep't 
of Labor, et al., No. 20-cv-1690 (E.D. Cal.), ECF No. 37. On January 
12, 2021, the district court issued a supplemental order requiring the 
Department to publish the AEWRs for 2021 in the Federal Register on or 
before February 25, 2021, using the methodology set forth in the 2010 
rule, and to make those AEWRs effective upon their publication. 
Supplemental Order Regarding Preliminary Injunctive Relief, United Farm 
Workers, et al. v. U.S. Dep't of Labor, et al., No. 20-cv-1690 (E.D. 
Cal.), ECF No. 39. Pursuant to the district court's supplemental order, 
the Department notified state workforce agencies (SWAs), employers, and 
the general public that the AEWRs in effect on December 20, 2020, 
remained in effect during the interim period until the Department 
published this update of the AEWRs for 2021 in the Federal Register. 
See, e.g., Announcements, OFLC Announces Updates to Implementation of 
the H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for Non-Range Occupations 
Final Rule; Compliance with District Court Order (Jan. 15, 2021), 
available at https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/news. As 
reflected in the Department's announcement on the OFLC website at 
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/news, the district 
court's supplemental order also reserved decision on whether an award 
of backpay to affected H-2A workers may be warranted based on the 
difference, if any, between the applicable 2020 AEWRs and the 2021 
AEWRs announced in this notice.
    Accordingly, the 2021 AEWRs 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

[[Page 10997]]

published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the 2020 Farm 
Labor Report on February 11, 2021.
    The 2021 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--2021 Adverse Effect Wage Rates
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                           State                              2021 AEWRs
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Alabama....................................................       $11.81
Arizona....................................................        13.67
Arkansas...................................................        11.88
California.................................................        16.05
Colorado...................................................        14.82
Connecticut................................................        14.99
Delaware...................................................        14.05
Florida....................................................        12.08
Georgia....................................................        11.81
Hawaii.....................................................        15.56
Idaho......................................................        14.55
Illinois...................................................        15.31
Indiana....................................................        15.31
Iowa.......................................................        15.37
Kansas.....................................................        15.89
Kentucky...................................................        12.96
Louisiana..................................................        11.88
Maine......................................................        14.99
Maryland...................................................        14.05
Massachusetts..............................................        14.99
Michigan...................................................        14.72
Minnesota..................................................        14.72
Mississippi................................................        11.88
Missouri...................................................        15.37
Montana....................................................        14.55
Nebraska...................................................        15.89
Nevada.....................................................        14.82
New Hampshire..............................................        14.99
New Jersey.................................................        14.05
New Mexico.................................................        13.67
New York...................................................        14.99
North Carolina.............................................        13.15
North Dakota...............................................        15.89
Ohio.......................................................        15.31
Oklahoma...................................................        13.03
Oregon.....................................................        16.34
Pennsylvania...............................................        14.05
Rhode Island...............................................        14.99
South Carolina.............................................        11.81
South Dakota...............................................        15.89
Tennessee..................................................        12.96
Texas......................................................        13.03
Utah.......................................................        14.82
Vermont....................................................        14.99
Virginia...................................................        13.15
Washington.................................................        16.34
West Virginia..............................................        12.96
Wisconsin..................................................        14.72
Wyoming....................................................        14.55
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    Dated: February 18, 2021.
Milton A. Stewart,
Acting Secretary of Labor.
[FR Doc. 2021-03752 Filed 2-19-21; 4:15 pm]
BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P