On December 23, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California issued an order in United Farm Workers v. DOL enjoining the Department of Labor (DOL) from implementing a final rule on adverse effect wage rate (AEWR) methodology for the temporary employment of H-2A nonimmigrants in non-range occupations. The court’s order prevents DOL from further implementing the H-2A AEWR final rule, which took effect on December 21, 2020, and orders DOL to use the methodology established by the agency’s 2010 H-2A regulation to establish the hourly AEWRs for all non-range occupations.
Effective immediately, and until further notice, H-2A job orders filed with the State Workforce Agency serving the area of intended employment on or after December 21, 2020, including job orders filed concurrently with an Application for Temporary Employment Certification to the OFLC National Processing Center for emergency situations, must use the AEWRs in effect on December 20, 2020.
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