Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Employment of Aliens in Agriculture and Logging in the United States: 2008 Adverse Effect Wage Rates, Allowable Charges for Agricultural and Logging Workers' Meals, and Maximum Travel Subsistence Reimbursement, 10288-10290 [E8-3567]
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10288
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 38 / Tuesday, February 26, 2008 / Notices
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Jkt 214001
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[FR Doc. E8–3543 Filed 2–25–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410–15–P
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training
Administration
Labor Certification Process for the
Temporary Employment of Aliens in
Agriculture and Logging in the United
States: 2008 Adverse Effect Wage
Rates, Allowable Charges for
Agricultural and Logging Workers’
Meals, and Maximum Travel
Subsistence Reimbursement
Employment and Training
Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice of Adverse Effect Wage
Rates, allowable charges for meals, and
maximum travel subsistence
reimbursement for 2008.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Employment and
Training Administration (ETA) of the
Department of Labor (Department or
DOL) is issuing this Notice to announce:
The 2008 Adverse Effect Wage Rates
(AEWRs) for employers seeking to
employ temporary or seasonal
nonimmigrant foreign workers to
perform agricultural labor or services
(H–2A workers) or logging (H–2B
logging workers); the allowable charges
for 2008 that employers seeking H–2A
workers and H–2B logging workers may
levy upon their workers when three
meals a day are provided by the
employer; and the maximum travel
subsistence reimbursement which a
worker with receipts may claim in 2008.
AEWRs are the minimum wage rates
the Department has determined must be
offered and paid by employers of H–2A
workers or H–2B logging workers to U.S.
and foreign workers for a particular
occupation and/or area so that the
wages of similarly employed U.S.
workers will not be adversely affected
(20 CFR 655.100(b) and 655.200(b)). In
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
this Notice the Department announces
the AEWRs for 2008. The Department
also announces the new rates for 2008
which agricultural and logging
employers may charge their workers for
three daily meals, and the minimum
and maximum charge of travel
subsistence expenses a worker may
claim in 2008.
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 26, 2008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
William L. Carlson, Ph.D.,
Administrator, Office of Foreign Labor
Certification, U.S. Department of Labor,
Room C–4312, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210.
Telephone: 202–693–3010 (this is not a
toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services of
the Department of Homeland Security
may not approve an employer’s petition
for the admission of H–2A
nonimmigrant temporary agricultural
workers or H–2B nonimmigrant
temporary logging workers in the United
States unless the petitioner has received
from DOL an H–2A or H–2B labor
certification, as appropriate. Approved
labor certifications attest: (1) There are
not sufficient U.S. workers who are able,
willing, and qualified and who will be
available at the time and place needed
to perform the labor or services involved
in the petition; and (2) the employment
of the foreign worker in such labor or
services will not adversely affect the
wages and working conditions of
workers in the U.S. similarly employed
(8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a),
1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b), 1184(c), and
1188(a); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5) and (6)).
DOL’s regulations for the H–2A and
H–2B logging programs require
employers to offer and pay their U.S.,
H–2A, and H–2B logging workers no
less than the appropriate hourly AEWR
in effect at the time the work is
performed (20 CFR 655.102(b)(9) and
655.202(b)(9); see also 20 CFR 655.107,
20 CFR 655.207 1).
A. Adverse Effect Wage Rates for 2008
AEWRs are the minimum wage rates
which must be offered and paid to U.S.
and foreign workers by employers of H–
2A workers or H–2B logging workers (20
CFR 655.100(b) and 20 CFR 655.200(b)).
Employers of H–2A workers must pay
the highest of (i) the AEWR, in effect, at
the time the work is performed; (ii) the
1 For additional information regarding the AEWR,
see the preamble of the Final Rule, 54 FR 28037–
28047 (July 5, 1989), which explained in depth the
purpose and history of AEWR, DOL’s policy in
setting the AEWR, and the AEWR computation
methodology at 20 CFR 655.107(a). See also 52 FR
20496, 20502–20505 (June 1, 1987).
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Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 38 / Tuesday, February 26, 2008 / Notices
applicable prevailing wage; or (iii) the
statutory minimum wage, as specified in
the regulations (20 CFR 655.102(b)(9)).
As U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) regional surveys are not
available for logging occupations,
employers of H–2B logging workers
must pay at least the prevailing wage in
the area of intended employment, which
is deemed to be the AEWR (20 CFR
655.202(b)(9); 20 CFR 655.207(a)).
Except as otherwise provided in 20
CFR part 655, subpart B, the regionwide AEWR for all agricultural
employment (except those occupations
deemed inappropriate under the special
circumstance provisions of 20 CFR
655.93) for which temporary H–2A
certification is being sought is equal to
the annual weighted average hourly
wage rate for field and livestock workers
(combined) for the region as published
annually by the USDA (20 CFR
655.107(a)). USDA does not provide
data on Alaska.
20 CFR 655.107(a) requires the
Administrator of the Office of Foreign
Labor Certification to publish USDA
field and livestock worker (combined)
wage data as AEWRs in a Federal
Register Notice. Accordingly, the 2008
AEWRs for agricultural work performed
by U.S. and H–2A workers on or after
the effective date of this Notice are set
forth in the table below:
TABLE—2008 ADVERSE EFFECT WAGE
RATES
2008
AEWRs
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State
Alabama ........................................
Arizona ..........................................
Arkansas .......................................
California .......................................
Colorado .......................................
Connecticut ...................................
Delaware .......................................
Florida ...........................................
Georgia .........................................
Hawaii ...........................................
Idaho .............................................
Illinois ............................................
Indiana ..........................................
Iowa ..............................................
Kansas ..........................................
Kentucky .......................................
Louisiana ......................................
Maine ............................................
Maryland .......................................
Massachusetts ..............................
Michigan .......................................
Minnesota .....................................
Mississippi ....................................
Missouri ........................................
Montana ........................................
Nebraska ......................................
Nevada .........................................
New Hampshire ............................
New Jersey ...................................
New Mexico ..................................
VerDate Aug<31>2005
19:29 Feb 25, 2008
$8.53
8.70
8.41
9.72
9.42
9.70
9.70
8.82
8.53
10.86
8.74
9.90
9.90
10.44
9.90
9.13
8.41
9.70
9.70
9.70
10.01
10.01
8.41
10.44
8.74
9.90
9.42
9.70
9.70
8.70
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10289
TABLE—2008 ADVERSE EFFECT WAGE month percent change in the CPI–U for
Food. The program’s regulations require
RATES—Continued
2008
AEWRs
State
New York ......................................
North Carolina ..............................
North Dakota ................................
Ohio ..............................................
Oklahoma .....................................
Oregon ..........................................
Pennsylvania ................................
Rhode Island ................................
South Carolina ..............................
South Dakota ................................
Tennessee ....................................
Texas ............................................
Utah ..............................................
Vermont ........................................
Virginia ..........................................
Washington ...................................
West Virginia ................................
Wisconsin .....................................
Wyoming .......................................
9.70
8.85
9.90
9.90
9.02
9.94
9.70
9.70
8.53
9.90
9.13
9.02
9.42
9.70
8.85
9.94
9.13
10.01
8.74
For all logging employment, the
AEWR shall be the prevailing wage rate
in the area of intended employment,
and the employer is required to pay at
least that rate (20 CFR 655.207(a)).
B. Allowable Meal Charges
Among the minimum benefits and
working conditions which DOL requires
employers to offer their U.S., H–2A, and
H–2B logging workers are three meals a
day or free and convenient cooking and
kitchen facilities (20 CFR 655.102(b)(4);
655.202(b)(4)). When the employer
provides meals, the job offer must state
the charge, if any, to the worker for
meals.
DOL has published at 20 CFR
655.102(b)(4) and 655.111(a) the
methodology for determining the
maximum amounts that H–2A
agricultural employers may charge their
U.S. and foreign workers for meals. The
same methodology is applied at 20 CFR
655.202(b)(4) and 655.211(a) to H–2B
logging employers. These rules provide
for annual adjustments of the previous
year’s allowable charges based upon
Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.
Each year, the maximum charges
allowed by 20 CFR 655.102(b)(4) and
655.202(b)(4) are adjusted by the same
percentage as the twelve-month percent
change in the CPI for all Urban
Consumers for Food (CPI–U for Food).
ETA may permit an employer to charge
workers no more than the higher
maximum amount set forth in 20 CFR
655.111(a) and 655.211(a), as applicable,
for providing them with three meals a
day, if justified and sufficiently
documented. Each year, the higher
maximum amounts permitted by 20 CFR
655.111(a) and 655.211(a) are changed
by the same percentage as the twelve-
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
DOL to make the annual adjustments
and to publish a Notice in the Federal
Register each calendar year, announcing
annual adjustments in allowable charges
that may be made by agricultural and
logging employers for providing three
meals daily to their U.S. and foreign
workers. The 2007 rates were published
in the Federal Register at 72 FR 7909
(February 21, 2007).
DOL has determined the percentage
change between December of 2006 and
December of 2007 for the CPI–U for
Food was 4.0 percent. Accordingly, the
maximum allowable charges under 20
CFR 655.102(b)(4), 655.202(b)(4),
655.111, and 655.211 were adjusted
using this percentage change, and the
new permissible charges for 2008, are as
follows: (1) Charges under 20 CFR
655.102(b)(4) and 655.202(b)(4) shall be
no more than $9.90 per day, unless ETA
has approved a higher charge pursuant
to 20 CFR 655.111 or 655.211; (2)
charges under 20 CFR 655.111 and
655.211 shall be no more than $12.27
per day, if the employer justifies the
charge and submits to ETA the
documentation required to support the
higher charge.
C. Maximum Travel Subsistence
Expense
The regulations at 20 CFR
655.102(b)(5) establish that the
minimum daily travel subsistence
expense, for which a worker is entitled
to reimbursement, is equivalent to the
employer’s daily charge for three meals
or, if the employer makes no charge, the
amount permitted under 20 CFR
655.102(b)(4). The regulation is silent
about the maximum amount to which a
qualifying worker is entitled.
The Department established the
maximum meals component of the
standard Continental United States
(CONUS) per diem rate established by
the General Services Administration
(GSA) and published at 41 CFR part
301, Appendix A. The CONUS meal
component is now $39.00 per day.
Workers who qualify for travel
reimbursement are entitled to
reimbursement up to the CONUS meal
rate for related subsistence when they
provide receipts. In determining the
appropriate amount of subsistence
reimbursement, the employer may use
the GSA system under which a traveler
qualifies for meal expense
reimbursement per quarter of a day.
Thus, a worker whose travel occurred
during two quarters of a day is entitled,
with receipts, to a maximum
reimbursement of $19.50. If a worker
has no receipts, the employer is not
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26FEN1
10290
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 38 / Tuesday, February 26, 2008 / Notices
obligated to reimburse above the
minimum stated at 20 CFR 655.102(b)(4)
as specified above.
Signed in Washington, DC, this 20th day of
February, 2008.
Douglas F. Small,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employment and
Training Administration.
[FR Doc. E8–3567 Filed 2–25–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–FP–P
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
[Docket No. 2008–2]
Review of Copyright Royalty Judges
Determination
Copyright Office, Library of
Congress.
ACTION: Notice; correction.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Register of Copyrights
published a document in the Federal
Register of February 19, 2008, reviewing
the determinations of the Copyright
Royalty Judges for setting rates and
terms for use of the sections 112 and
114 statutory licenses by New
Subscription Services, Preexisting
Subscription Services and Preexisting
Satellite Digital Audio Radio Services.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Tanya Sandros, General Counsel,
Copyright Office. Telephone (202) 707–
8380.
CORRECTION
In the Federal Register of February
19, 2008, in Docket No. 2008–2, correct
the following citations to read:
On page 9144 in the second column,
third paragraph, line five, ‘‘71 FR 1455’’.
On page 9144 in the third column,
first paragraph, last line, ‘‘72 FR 71795’’.
On page 9145 in the third column,
sixth line from the top, ‘‘72 FR 61586’’.
Dated: February 20, 2008
Tanya Sandros,
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E8–3619 Filed 2–25–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 1410–30–S
MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE
CORPORATION
[MCC FR 08–01]
mstockstill on PROD1PC66 with NOTICES
Agency Information Collection
Request; Comment Request
Millennium Challenge
Corporation.
ACTION: 60 Day Notice.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: The Millennium Challenge
Corporation, in accordance with the
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19:29 Feb 25, 2008
Jkt 214001
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
invites public comment on a proposed
information collection request. Before a
Federal agency can collect certain
information from the public, it must
receive approval from the Office of
Management and Budge (OMB). Under
procedures established by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
before seeking OMB approval, Federal
agencies must solicit public comment
on proposed collections of information,
including extensions and reinstatements
of previously approved collections.
This document describes on
collection of information which the
Millennium Challenge Corporation
intends to seek OMB approval.
DATES: Please submit comments by
April 22, 2008.
ADDRESSES: To obtain copies of the
supporting statement and any related
forms for the proposed paperwork
collections referenced below, e-mail
your request, including your address,
phone number, OMB number to
Kellytj@mcc.gov, or call Thomas Kelly at
(202) 521–3600. Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection must be received
within 60 days of this notice, and
directed to Thomas Kelly, Director,
Economic Policy at the following
address: Millennium Challenge
Corporation; 875 15th Street, NW.;
Washington, DC 20005.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In
compliance with the requirement of
section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995, as amended, the
Millennium Challenge Corporation
(MCC) is publishing the following
summary of a proposed information
collection for public comment.
Interested persons are invited to send
comments on: (i) The necessity and
utility of the proposed collection of
information for the proper performance
of the agency’s functions; (ii) the
accuracy of the estimated burden; (iii)
the quality, utility and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (iv) the
burden of the collection of information
on those who are to respond, including
various technological collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology to minimize the information
collection burden.
Proposed Project: A survey of
international development organizations
to assist in measuring MCC’s leadership
role in development practice. This
survey, conducted by an independent
organization, will become a part of
MCC’s data measuring its performance
under the provisions of the Government
Performance Results Act of 1993. It will
seek to measure how MCC is affecting
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
change in the manner development
assistance is administered by other
organizations providing similar
assistance.
Abstract:
Type of Information Collection
Request: New Request.
Title of Information Collection:
Leadership in Development Assistance
Survey.
Use: The Millennium Challenge Act
of 2003 (Pub. L. 108–199) established
the Millennium Challenge Corporation
(MCC) to reduce poverty through
sustainable economic growth to poor
countries demonstrating through their
policy performance their commitment to
good governance. One of MCC’s
strategic goals, as stated in its strategic
plan developed pursuant to GPRA, is to
‘‘advance the international development
practice.’’ This survey will gather
information regarding how MCC’s
unique model of assistance is impacting
the development assistance community.
In particular, it will measure whether
other organizations recognize the
distinguishing characteristics of MCC’s
approach to providing foreign
assistance, whether they believe that
MCC’s approach represents best
practice, and whether they are
modifying their own assistance
programs to include elements of MCC’s
approach. The survey will be conducted
by phone to organizations and
individuals selected by MCC. Data
gathered by the independent survey will
be provided to MCC for the purpose of
assessing its performance with respect
to the above-stated goal.
Frequency: Biannual.
Affected Public: International donors,
foundations, Think Tanks,
Academicians.
Biannual Number of Respondents:
300.
Total Biannual Responses: 300.
Average Burden per Response: 10
minutes.
Total Biannual Hours: 50 hours.
To obtain copies of the supporting
statement and any related forms for the
proposed paperwork collections
referenced above, e-mail your request,
including your address, phone number,
OMB number to Kellytj@mcc.gov, or call
Thomas Kelly, Director, Economic
Policy at (202) 521–3600. Written
comments and recommendations for the
proposed information collection must
be received within 60 days of this
notice, and directed to Thomas Kelly,
Director, Economic Policy at the
following address: Millennium
Challenge Corporation; Policy and
International Relations; 875 15th Street,
NW.; Washington, DC 20005.
E:\FR\FM\26FEN1.SGM
26FEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 38 (Tuesday, February 26, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10288-10290]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-3567]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Employment of
Aliens in Agriculture and Logging in the United States: 2008 Adverse
Effect Wage Rates, Allowable Charges for Agricultural and Logging
Workers' Meals, and Maximum Travel Subsistence Reimbursement
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice of Adverse Effect Wage Rates, allowable charges for
meals, and maximum travel subsistence reimbursement for 2008.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the
Department of Labor (Department or DOL) is issuing this Notice to
announce: The 2008 Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) for employers
seeking to employ temporary or seasonal nonimmigrant foreign workers to
perform agricultural labor or services (H-2A workers) or logging (H-2B
logging workers); the allowable charges for 2008 that employers seeking
H-2A workers and H-2B logging workers may levy upon their workers when
three meals a day are provided by the employer; and the maximum travel
subsistence reimbursement which a worker with receipts may claim in
2008.
AEWRs are the minimum wage rates the Department has determined must
be offered and paid by employers of H-2A workers or H-2B logging
workers to U.S. and foreign workers for a particular occupation and/or
area so that the wages of similarly employed U.S. workers will not be
adversely affected (20 CFR 655.100(b) and 655.200(b)). In this Notice
the Department announces the AEWRs for 2008. The Department also
announces the new rates for 2008 which agricultural and logging
employers may charge their workers for three daily meals, and the
minimum and maximum charge of travel subsistence expenses a worker may
claim in 2008.
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 26, 2008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William L. Carlson, Ph.D.,
Administrator, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, U.S. Department
of Labor, Room C-4312, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC
20210. Telephone: 202-693-3010 (this is not a toll-free number).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services of the Department of Homeland Security may not approve an
employer's petition for the admission of H-2A nonimmigrant temporary
agricultural workers or H-2B nonimmigrant temporary logging workers in
the United States unless the petitioner has received from DOL an H-2A
or H-2B labor certification, as appropriate. Approved labor
certifications attest: (1) There are not sufficient U.S. workers who
are able, willing, and qualified and who will be available at the time
and place needed to perform the labor or services involved in the
petition; and (2) the employment of the foreign worker in such labor or
services will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of
workers in the U.S. similarly employed (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a),
1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b), 1184(c), and 1188(a); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5) and
(6)).
DOL's regulations for the H-2A and H-2B logging programs require
employers to offer and pay their U.S., H-2A, and H-2B logging workers
no less than the appropriate hourly AEWR in effect at the time the work
is performed (20 CFR 655.102(b)(9) and 655.202(b)(9); see also 20 CFR
655.107, 20 CFR 655.207 \1\).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ For additional information regarding the AEWR, see the
preamble of the Final Rule, 54 FR 28037-28047 (July 5, 1989), which
explained in depth the purpose and history of AEWR, DOL's policy in
setting the AEWR, and the AEWR computation methodology at 20 CFR
655.107(a). See also 52 FR 20496, 20502-20505 (June 1, 1987).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A. Adverse Effect Wage Rates for 2008
AEWRs are the minimum wage rates which must be offered and paid to
U.S. and foreign workers by employers of H-2A workers or H-2B logging
workers (20 CFR 655.100(b) and 20 CFR 655.200(b)). Employers of H-2A
workers must pay the highest of (i) the AEWR, in effect, at the time
the work is performed; (ii) the
[[Page 10289]]
applicable prevailing wage; or (iii) the statutory minimum wage, as
specified in the regulations (20 CFR 655.102(b)(9)). As U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) regional surveys are not available for logging
occupations, employers of H-2B logging workers must pay at least the
prevailing wage in the area of intended employment, which is deemed to
be the AEWR (20 CFR 655.202(b)(9); 20 CFR 655.207(a)).
Except as otherwise provided in 20 CFR part 655, subpart B, the
region-wide AEWR for all agricultural employment (except those
occupations deemed inappropriate under the special circumstance
provisions of 20 CFR 655.93) for which temporary H-2A certification is
being sought is equal to the annual weighted average hourly wage rate
for field and livestock workers (combined) for the region as published
annually by the USDA (20 CFR 655.107(a)). USDA does not provide data on
Alaska.
20 CFR 655.107(a) requires the Administrator of the Office of
Foreign Labor Certification to publish USDA field and livestock worker
(combined) wage data as AEWRs in a Federal Register Notice.
Accordingly, the 2008 AEWRs for agricultural work performed by U.S. and
H-2A workers on or after the effective date of this Notice are set
forth in the table below:
Table--2008 Adverse Effect Wage Rates
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2008
State AEWRs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama...................................................... $8.53
Arizona...................................................... 8.70
Arkansas..................................................... 8.41
California................................................... 9.72
Colorado..................................................... 9.42
Connecticut.................................................. 9.70
Delaware..................................................... 9.70
Florida...................................................... 8.82
Georgia...................................................... 8.53
Hawaii....................................................... 10.86
Idaho........................................................ 8.74
Illinois..................................................... 9.90
Indiana...................................................... 9.90
Iowa......................................................... 10.44
Kansas....................................................... 9.90
Kentucky..................................................... 9.13
Louisiana.................................................... 8.41
Maine........................................................ 9.70
Maryland..................................................... 9.70
Massachusetts................................................ 9.70
Michigan..................................................... 10.01
Minnesota.................................................... 10.01
Mississippi.................................................. 8.41
Missouri..................................................... 10.44
Montana...................................................... 8.74
Nebraska..................................................... 9.90
Nevada....................................................... 9.42
New Hampshire................................................ 9.70
New Jersey................................................... 9.70
New Mexico................................................... 8.70
New York..................................................... 9.70
North Carolina............................................... 8.85
North Dakota................................................. 9.90
Ohio......................................................... 9.90
Oklahoma..................................................... 9.02
Oregon....................................................... 9.94
Pennsylvania................................................. 9.70
Rhode Island................................................. 9.70
South Carolina............................................... 8.53
South Dakota................................................. 9.90
Tennessee.................................................... 9.13
Texas........................................................ 9.02
Utah......................................................... 9.42
Vermont...................................................... 9.70
Virginia..................................................... 8.85
Washington................................................... 9.94
West Virginia................................................ 9.13
Wisconsin.................................................... 10.01
Wyoming...................................................... 8.74
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For all logging employment, the AEWR shall be the prevailing wage
rate in the area of intended employment, and the employer is required
to pay at least that rate (20 CFR 655.207(a)).
B. Allowable Meal Charges
Among the minimum benefits and working conditions which DOL
requires employers to offer their U.S., H-2A, and H-2B logging workers
are three meals a day or free and convenient cooking and kitchen
facilities (20 CFR 655.102(b)(4); 655.202(b)(4)). When the employer
provides meals, the job offer must state the charge, if any, to the
worker for meals.
DOL has published at 20 CFR 655.102(b)(4) and 655.111(a) the
methodology for determining the maximum amounts that H-2A agricultural
employers may charge their U.S. and foreign workers for meals. The same
methodology is applied at 20 CFR 655.202(b)(4) and 655.211(a) to H-2B
logging employers. These rules provide for annual adjustments of the
previous year's allowable charges based upon Consumer Price Index (CPI)
data.
Each year, the maximum charges allowed by 20 CFR 655.102(b)(4) and
655.202(b)(4) are adjusted by the same percentage as the twelve-month
percent change in the CPI for all Urban Consumers for Food (CPI-U for
Food). ETA may permit an employer to charge workers no more than the
higher maximum amount set forth in 20 CFR 655.111(a) and 655.211(a), as
applicable, for providing them with three meals a day, if justified and
sufficiently documented. Each year, the higher maximum amounts
permitted by 20 CFR 655.111(a) and 655.211(a) are changed by the same
percentage as the twelve-month percent change in the CPI-U for Food.
The program's regulations require DOL to make the annual adjustments
and to publish a Notice in the Federal Register each calendar year,
announcing annual adjustments in allowable charges that may be made by
agricultural and logging employers for providing three meals daily to
their U.S. and foreign workers. The 2007 rates were published in the
Federal Register at 72 FR 7909 (February 21, 2007).
DOL has determined the percentage change between December of 2006
and December of 2007 for the CPI-U for Food was 4.0 percent.
Accordingly, the maximum allowable charges under 20 CFR 655.102(b)(4),
655.202(b)(4), 655.111, and 655.211 were adjusted using this percentage
change, and the new permissible charges for 2008, are as follows: (1)
Charges under 20 CFR 655.102(b)(4) and 655.202(b)(4) shall be no more
than $9.90 per day, unless ETA has approved a higher charge pursuant to
20 CFR 655.111 or 655.211; (2) charges under 20 CFR 655.111 and 655.211
shall be no more than $12.27 per day, if the employer justifies the
charge and submits to ETA the documentation required to support the
higher charge.
C. Maximum Travel Subsistence Expense
The regulations at 20 CFR 655.102(b)(5) establish that the minimum
daily travel subsistence expense, for which a worker is entitled to
reimbursement, is equivalent to the employer's daily charge for three
meals or, if the employer makes no charge, the amount permitted under
20 CFR 655.102(b)(4). The regulation is silent about the maximum amount
to which a qualifying worker is entitled.
The Department established the maximum meals component of the
standard Continental United States (CONUS) per diem rate established by
the General Services Administration (GSA) and published at 41 CFR part
301, Appendix A. The CONUS meal component is now $39.00 per day.
Workers who qualify for travel reimbursement are entitled to
reimbursement up to the CONUS meal rate for related subsistence when
they provide receipts. In determining the appropriate amount of
subsistence reimbursement, the employer may use the GSA system under
which a traveler qualifies for meal expense reimbursement per quarter
of a day. Thus, a worker whose travel occurred during two quarters of a
day is entitled, with receipts, to a maximum reimbursement of $19.50.
If a worker has no receipts, the employer is not
[[Page 10290]]
obligated to reimburse above the minimum stated at 20 CFR 655.102(b)(4)
as specified above.
Signed in Washington, DC, this 20th day of February, 2008.
Douglas F. Small,
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-3567 Filed 2-25-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P
