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

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced an 18-month delay in the effective date of the final rule, “Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States.”

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 final rule will now go into effect on Nov. 14, 2022. 

The delay will provide the department with sufficient time to consider the final rule’s legal and policy issues thoroughly, and to review the public comments received in response to a Request for Information published on April 2, 2021. The RFI seeks information about potential sources and methods for determining prevailing wage levels.

The 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 follows an initial 60-day delay. The department based this action on a Jan. 20, 2021, White House memo.

Read the final rule finalizing the delay, now available online for public inspection. It was published in the Federal Register today.