The U.S. Department of Labor is implementing new minimum hourly wage rates for H-2A workers in an effort to ensure wages of similarly employed U.S. workers are not adversely affected.
The H-2A adverse effect wage rates are determined for all occupations and locations based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture's annual wages rates from its regional Farm Labor Survey of nonfamily field and livestock workers.
The DOL annually publishes these rates in the Federal Register to alert employers participating in the H-2A temporary visa program of their responsibilities. Rates go into effect the day they are published and only apply to the H-2A program.
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"Ensuring that employers participating in the H-2A program adhere to these wages helps protect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers while providing a legal means for employers to access foreign workers with critical skills needed to help keep our economy strong," says Jane Oates, assistant secretary of labor for employment and training. "Employers who play by the rules deserve to compete on a level playing field, and all workers deserve to work with dignity under the full protection of our laws."
The published rates are coming earlier than expected, so growers have an advanced notice of changes and application processing delays can be cut. The figures that employers may charge their workers for three meals each day and the maximum travel subsistence reimbursement a worker with receipts may claim in 2012 will be published in a separate Federal Register notice in early 2012.
The complete list of rates is available online.
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