US Department of Labor announces proposed 18-month delay to prevailing wage rule affecting certain immigrants, non-immigrants

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor has announced that it has proposed an 18-month delay in the effective date of a final rule on calculating prevailing wages of certain immigrants and non-immigrant workers. Published in January 2021, the final rule affects employers seeking to employ foreign workers on a permanent or temporary basis through certain immigrant visas or through H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 non-immigrant visas.

The proposed delay will provide the department with sufficient time to consider the rule’s legal and policy issues thoroughly, and issue an upcoming Request for Information and gather public comments on the sources and methods for determining prevailing wage levels.

The proposed delay will also give agency officials sufficient time to compute and validate prevailing wage data covering specific occupations and geographic areas, complete necessary system modifications and conduct public outreach. This proposed rule follows an initial 60-day delay announced earlier this month. The department based that action on a Jan. 20, 2021, White House memo.

The Federal Register published the proposal in its March 22, 2021, edition. Submit comments on the proposed delay for 30-days from its publication at https://www.regulations.gov/.