OFLC Hurricane Disaster Idalia Guidance

​Guidance on applicants affected by Hurricane Idalia

Announcements

July 3, 2024. OFLC Announces Updates to H-2A Prevailing Wage Rates in Washington State for Non-Range Occupations; Compliance with District Court Order

On July 2, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington issued an order in Familias Unidas Por La Justicia v. DOL, et al., No. 24-cv-00637, enjoining the Department of Labor from implementing 20 CFR 655.120(c)(2) (the “One-Year Rule”) for prevailing wages in Washington State, and ordering the Department of Labor to reinstate and enforce the prevailing wage rates for Washington State published on January 24, 2022. Through this notice the Department is reinstating the relevant prevailing wage rates in Washington State, which is included in the link below, and available on the Department’s Agricultural Online Wage Library.

Effective immediately, and until further notice, H-2A job orders seeking temporary labor certification for work to be performed in the State of Washington on or after July 3, 2024, including job orders filed concurrently with an Application for Temporary Employment Certification to the OFLC National Processing Center for emergency situations under 20 CFR 655.134, must use the prevailing wage rate available in the link below if it is the highest applicable wage rate.

Important Reminder: In accordance with 20 CFR 655.120(c)(3), if a prevailing wage for the geographic area and crop activity or agricultural activity and distinct work task(s), if applicable, is adjusted during a work contract, and is higher than the highest of the AEWR, a previous prevailing wage for the geographic area and crop activity or agricultural activity or, if applicable, a distinct work task or tasks performed in that activity, the agreed-upon collective bargaining wage, the Federal minimum wage, or the State minimum wage, the employer must pay at least that higher prevailing wage upon the Department's notice to the employer of the new prevailing wage.

July 2, 2024. *Update* Employment and Training Administration Publishes Federal Register Notice (FRN) Updating the H-2A Hourly Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) for Non-Range Occupations Using the Occupational Employment and Statistics Survey (OEWS)

The Employment and Training Administration published an FRN on June 24, 2024 updating the AEWRs under the H-2A temporary agricultural employment program that apply to a limited set of H-2A job opportunities for which the AEWR is determined using the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey. These changes will go into effect, as stated in the FRN, on July 8, 2024. The Department is also making available a preview of the non-range OEWS-based AEWRs which will go into effect on July 8, 2024.

July 1, 2024. OFLC Publishes Updated Wage Data for the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands

The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) received the 2024 Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Prevailing Wage Study survey from the Governor of the CNMI for the CW-1 program. OFLC has approved the 2024 CNMI Prevailing Wage Study survey for 432 occupations and will issue updated CW-1 prevailing wages using this data from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. The updated wage table includes prevailing wage data for a total of 848 occupations.

July 1, 2024. OFLC Issues Technical Release Notes for the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Update for the July 2024 through June 2025 Wage Year

The Office of Foreign Labor Certification has published the latest prevailing wage data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) as generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the new wage year from July 2024 through June 2025, effective July 1, 2024. Prevailing wage determinations issued from the National Prevailing Wage Center reflect the 2018 SOC codes.

June 27, 2024. Office of Foreign Labor Certification Announces that FLCDataCenter.com Will Be Discontinued Effective July 1, 2024

FLCDataCenter.com will be discontinued effective July 1, 2024. On July 1, 2024, prevailing wage data from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Survey will be available through the OFLC Wage Search tool, which can be accessed via the FLAG website (https://flag.dol.gov/wage-data/wage-search).

June 26, 2024. Office of Foreign Labor Certification Announces Publication of an Updated Appendix A to the Preamble–Education and Training Categories by O*NET–SOC Occupations for July 2024 through June 2025 Wage Year

On November 15, 2021, the Employment and Training Administration issued a Federal Register notice (FRN) informing the public that the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) was updating Appendix A to the Preamble–Education and Training Categories by Occupational Information Network (O*NET)–Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Occupations. Appendix A is a list of professional occupations that serves as a guide for employers to distinguish between professional and non-professional occupations in order to comply with the professional recruitment requirements of the PERM program. The FRN stated that OFLC intends to review BLS’s occupational and education data each year to publish a new list of occupations on its website, even when BLS data remain the same from the previous year.

OFLC is releasing this year’s Appendix A, which implements the new list of professional occupations for the July 2024 through June 2025 wage year and will be effective starting July 1, 2024.

June 25, 2024. Office of Foreign Labor Certification Reminds Employers and Stakeholders of the H-2B Application Filing Timelines for October 1, 2024, Start Dates of Work

The Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) reminds employers and other interested stakeholders that the three-day filing window to submit an H-2B Application for Temporary Employment Certification (Form ETA-9142B and appendices) requesting a work start date of October 1, 2024, will open on July 3, 2024, at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time, and close on July 5, 2024, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. This three-day period is the earliest an employer may file an application for an October 1, 2024, work start date, which is the first day of the semi-annual visa allotment for the first half of Fiscal Year 2025. Employers seeking start dates of October 2, 2024, or later must comply with the timeliness requirements at 20 CFR 655.15(b).

In accordance with regulatory requirements and OFLC’s standard operating procedures, H-2B applications requesting October 1, 2024, work start dates will be denied if they are filed before July 3, 2024, at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

After the three-day filing window has closed, OFLC will randomly order applications for assignment to analysts for review and processing all H-2B applications requesting a work start date of October 1, 2024, that are filed during the three-day filing window (July 3-5, 2024) using the randomization procedures published in the Federal Register on March 4, 2019.

Helpful Filing Tips

  • Only one H-2B Application for Temporary Employment Certification per job opportunity should be filed to prevent duplicate filings and delayed processing. 20 CFR 655.15(f).
  • If “yes” is selected for “Board, Lodging, or Other Facilities” under section F.d.5, Form ETA-9142B, and deductions other than those required by law may be made from the worker’s pay, include details about the deductions and amounts to cover the reasonable cost of board, lodging, and other facilities in section F.d.6.
  • The employer must submit with its H-2B Application for Temporary Employment Certification a copy of the job order being submitted concurrently to the SWA serving the area of intended employment, as set forth in 20 CFR 655.16. The job order submitted must be a copy of the actual job order or a completed job order form used by the SWA for posting in its job clearance systems (as defined by 20 CFR 655.5).
  • Original signatures and dates on Appendix B must be current.
     

June 24, 2024. Employment and Training Administration Publishes Federal Register Notice (FRN) Updating the H-2A Hourly Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) for Non-Range Occupations Using the Occupational Employment and Statistics Survey (OEWS)

The Employment and Training Administration has published an FRN updating the AEWRs under the H-2A temporary agricultural employment program that apply to a limited set of H-2A job opportunities for which the AEWR is determined using the Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS survey. These changes will go into effect, as stated in the FRN, on July 8, 2024.


June 14, 2024. Office of Foreign Labor Certification Announces Solicitation of Input for the Annual Determination of Labor Supply States to Enhance U.S. Worker Recruitment

The 2022 H-2A Final Rule, which became effective on November 14, 2022, implemented a new process for the OFLC Administrator’s determination of labor supply states (LSS). LSS are additional states in which an employer’s job order will be circulated and, if appropriate, where additional positive recruitment may be required of the employer. Consistent with 20 CFR 655.154, the OFLC Administrator will solicit public input about LSS and related recruitment mechanisms to make a determination that identifies whether there are areas of traditional or expected labor supply for each state with respect to the availability of qualified workers and the appropriate and effective means of recruiting those workers. The solicitation period will be open for a period of 60 days. The determination can include specific geographic area(s) of the United States in which a significant number of qualified workers have been identified and who, if recruited through additional positive employer recruitment activities, would be willing to make themselves available for work in the state.

The OFLC Administrator will consider general information about labor flow trends (e.g., information contained in the agricultural recruitment clearance system) to inform a determination regarding expanded interstate circulation of H-2A job orders. To make a determination regarding labor supply and the positive recruitment needed to reach qualified workers within a State, the OFLC Administrator requests information from the public regarding the availability of qualified workers, and the appropriate, effective methods of contacting those workers. Information that could be helpful to the OFLC Administrator’s determination include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • The type of qualified workers available (e.g., tomato harvest workers);
  • The State and geographic area(s) within the State where the workers may be located (e.g., city, county, regional non-metropolitan area);
  • The methods for apprising the workers of a job opportunity (e.g., local newspaper or periodical, posting with a particular community organization engaged with those workers); and/or
  • Most current information for the person(s) or entity (e.g., worker union, community-based organization) to be contacted for assistance in circulating the job opportunity to those workers.

All previously determined LSS requirements will remain in full effect, unless the OFLC Administrator receives information indicating that a previous LSS is no longer a source for qualified workers.

DEADLINE FOR PUBLIC INPUT: OFLC is seeking information, and particularly welcomes specific information, on or before Tuesday, August 13, 2024.

HOW TO SUBMIT INFORMATION: OFLC will only consider electronic submissions to the email box, H2ALaborSupply@dol.gov, for making determinations as to the labor supply States. Any submissions sent through mail or other correspondence will not be accepted.

The OFLC Administrator will publish on the OFLC website its determinations after careful review of all information received.

In addition, the Department will continue to satisfy its multi-State recruitment statutory requirement, and the broader statutory obligation regarding U.S. worker availability, through a combination of other recruitment activities, including:

  • Posting job opportunities on DOL’s electronic job registry, SeasonalJobs.dol.gov, which broadcasts the job offer continuously to prospective applicants during the recruitment period;
  • Interstate clearance of the job order through the SWAs, which engages the Wagner-Peyser recruitment system in labor supply States; and
  • Employer contact with former U.S. workers, wherever they are located.
     

June 10, 2024. OFLC Provides Materials on the 2024 Farmworker Protection Final Rule Webinar

On June 6, 2024, the Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC), Wage and Hour Division, and the Office of Workforce Investment conducted a webinar to provide on the changes to the H-2A and Wagner-Peyser Employment Service programs made by the 2024 Farmworker Protection Final Rule. The presentation materials are now available at the hyperlinks below and located on our website under the “Webinars” tab at the bottom of the H-2A Program page located here: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor/programs/h-2a

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