Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Employment of Aliens in Agriculture in the United States: 2011 Adverse Effect Wage Rates, Allowable Charges for Agricultural Workers' Meals, and Maximum Travel Subsistence Reimbursement, 11286-11287 [2011-4419]

Download as PDF 11286 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 40 / Tuesday, March 1, 2011 / Notices supportive services necessary to achieve the preceding four goals, including strengthening the role of the public workforce system in career pathway programs. ETA proposes to fund approximately 40 to 50 grants ranging from $1 million to $5 million. Based on statutory requirements, at least $65 million of the total designated funds will be reserved for projects that focus on the health care sector. In addition, DOL intends to reserve funding of approximately $6.25 million of the total appropriation to award additional funding to support grantee efforts to conduct a third-party evaluation of the grant activities with this SGA. The complete SGA and any subsequent SGA amendments, in connection with the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, Public Law 105–220 is described in further detail on ETA’s Web site at https://www.doleta.gov or on https://www.grants.gov. The Web sites provide application information, eligibility requirements, review and selection procedures and other program requirements governing this solicitation. DATES: The closing date for receipt of applications is March 31, 2011. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Linda Forman, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room N4716, Washington, DC 20210; telephone: 202– 693–3416. Signed at Washington, DC, this 23rd day of February, 2011. Donna Kelly, Grant Officer, Employment and Training Administration. [FR Doc. 2011–4407 Filed 2–28–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4510–FN–P DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employment and Training Administration Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Employment of Aliens in Agriculture in the United States: 2011 Adverse Effect Wage Rates, Allowable Charges for Agricultural Workers’ Meals, and Maximum Travel Subsistence Reimbursement Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor. ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor (Department) is issuing this Notice to announce: (1) The 2011 Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) for employers seeking to employ temporary or seasonal nonimmigrant foreign workers to jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES SUMMARY: VerDate Mar<15>2010 18:42 Feb 28, 2011 Jkt 223001 perform agricultural labor or services (H–2A workers); (2) the allowable maximum amount for 2011 that employers may charge their H–2A workers for providing them with three meals a day; and (3) the maximum travel subsistence reimbursement which a worker with receipts may claim in 2011. DATES: Effective Date: March 1, 2011. 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 United States (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 in the U.S. unless the petitioner has received from the Department of Labor (Department) an H–2A labor certification. Approved labor certifications attest that: (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)(1), and 1188(a); and 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5) and (6). The Department’s regulations for the H–2A program require employers to offer and pay their U.S. and H–2A workers no less than the appropriate hourly AEWR in effect at the time the work is performed. 20 CFR 655.122(l). A. Adverse Effect Wage Rates for 2011 Employers of H–2A workers must pay the highest of (i) the AEWR, in effect, at the time the work is performed; (ii) the applicable prevailing wage; or (iii) the statutory minimum wage, as specified in the regulations. 20 CFR 655.120(a). Except as otherwise provided in 20 CFR part 655, Subpart B, the region-wide AEWR for all agricultural employment (except those occupations which are exempted under the special procedure provisions of 20 CFR 655.102) 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 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) based on its quarterly wage PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 survey. Pursuant to 20 CFR 655.120(c), the Administrator of the Office of Foreign Labor Certification must publish USDA field and livestock worker (combined) wage data as AEWRs in a Federal Register Notice. Accordingly, the 2011 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—2011 ADVERSE EFFECT WAGE RATES 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 .............................. 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 ................................... 2011 AEWRs $9.12 9.60 8.97 10.31 10.48 10.25 10.60 9.50 9.12 12.01 9.90 10.84 10.84 11.03 11.52 9.48 8.97 10.25 10.60 10.25 10.62 10.62 8.97 11.03 9.90 11.52 10.48 10.25 10.60 9.60 10.25 9.30 11.52 10.84 9.65 10.60 10.60 10.25 9.12 11.52 9.48 9.65 10.48 10.25 9.30 10.60 9.48 10.62 9.90 B. Allowable Meal Charges Among the minimum benefits and working conditions which the Department requires employers to offer their U.S. and H–2A workers are three E:\FR\FM\01MRN1.SGM 01MRN1 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 40 / Tuesday, March 1, 2011 / Notices jlentini on DSKJ8SOYB1PROD with NOTICES meals a day or free and convenient cooking and kitchen facilities. 20 CFR 655.122(g). When the employer provides meals, the job offer must state the charge, if any, to the worker for such meals. 20 CFR 655.122(g). The Department has published at 20 CFR 655.173(a) the methodology for determining the maximum amounts that H–2A agricultural employers may charge their U.S. and foreign workers for meals. These rules provide for annual adjustments of the previous year’s allowable charges based upon Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. 20 CFR 655.173(a). Each year, the maximum charges allowed by 20 CFR 655.122(g) are adjusted by the same percentage as the 12-month percent change for the CPI for all Urban Consumers for Food (CPI–U for Food). The Department may permit an employer to charge workers no more than the higher maximum amount set forth in 20 CFR 655.173(b), as applicable, for providing them with three meals a day, if justified and sufficiently documented. The H–2A program’s regulations require the Department 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 2010 rates were published in the Federal Register at 75 FR 7293, Feb. 18, 2010. The Department has determined the percentage change between December of 2009 and December of 2010 for the CPI– U for Food was .8 percent. Accordingly, the maximum allowable charges under 20 CFR 655.122(g) were adjusted using this percentage change, and the new permissible charges for 2011 shall be no more than $10.73 per day, unless the Department has approved a higher charge pursuant to 20 CFR 655.173(b). C. Maximum Travel Subsistence Expense The regulations at 20 CFR 655.122(h) establish that the minimum daily travel subsistence expense, for which a worker is entitled to reimbursement, is at least as much as the employer would charge the worker for providing the worker with three meals a day during employment (if applicable), but in no event less than the amount permitted under 20 CFR 655.173(a). The regulation is silent about the maximum amount to which a qualifying worker is entitled. The Department based the maximum meals component on the standard Continental United States (CONUS) per diem rate established by the General VerDate Mar<15>2010 18:42 Feb 28, 2011 Jkt 223001 Services Administration (GSA), published at 41 CFR Part 301, Appendix A. The CONUS meal component is now $46.00 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 at 75 percent of the subsistence for the first partial day of travel and 75 percent of the subsistence for the last partial day per quarter of a day. If a worker has no receipts, the employer is not obligated to reimburse above the minimum stated at 20 CFR 655.173(a), as specified above. Signed in Washington, DC this 18th day of February, 2011. Jane Oates, Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration. [FR Doc. 2011–4419 Filed 2–28–11; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4510–FN–P LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Copyright Royalty Board [Docket No. 2010–8 CRB DD 2005–2008] Distribution of 2005 Through 2008 DART Musical Works Funds Royalties Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress. ACTION: Notice soliciting comments on motion for partial distribution. AGENCY: The Copyright Royalty Judges are soliciting comments on a motion for partial distribution in connection with 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008 DART Musical Works Fund royalties. DATES: Comments are due on or before March 31, 2011. ADDRESSES: Comments may be sent electronically to crb@loc.gov. In the alternative, send an original, five copies, and an electronic copy on a CD either by mail or hand delivery. Please do not use multiple means of transmission. Comments may not be delivered by an overnight delivery service other than the U.S. Postal Service Express Mail. If by mail (including overnight delivery), comments must be addressed to: Copyright Royalty Board, P.O. Box 70977, Washington, DC 20024–0977. If hand delivered by a private party, comments must be brought to the Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building, LM–401, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00095 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 11287 Washington, DC 20559–6000. If delivered by a commercial courier, comments must be delivered to the Congressional Courier Acceptance Site located at 2nd and D Street, NE., Washington, DC. The envelope must be addressed to: Copyright Royalty Board, Library of Congress, James Madison Memorial Building, LM–403, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC 20559–6000. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Strasser, Senior Attorney, or Gina Giuffreda, Attorney Advisor, by telephone at (202) 707–7658 or e-mail at crb@loc.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 8, 2010, Broadcast Music, Inc., the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, SESAC, Inc. and The Harry Fox Agency, Inc. (hereinafter ‘‘Settling Claimants’’) filed with the Judges a Motion for Partial Distribution of the Digital Audio Recording Technology (‘‘DART’’) Musical Works Funds for 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. In the Motion the Settling Claimants state that they have reached confidential settlements concerning their respective distribution shares for these years. The Settling Claimants request that the Judges, pursuant to Section 801(b)(3)(A) of the Copyright Act, distribute to the Settling Claimants 95% of the 2005–2008 DART Musical Works Funds, for the Writers and Music Publishers Subfunds. They also request that the Copyright Royalty Judges (‘‘Judges’’) publish notice in the Federal Register requesting comments on their proposed partial distribution. Section 801(b)(3)(A) authorizes the Judges to order distributions of royalty funds to the extent that the Judges find that the distribution of such fees is not subject to controversy. 17 U.S.C. 801(b)(3)(A). That section of the Copyright Act does not require publication in the Federal Register, but it does require that the Judges find that the fees requested are not subject to controversy. The Settling Claimants do not make such a representation. Rather they represent that they have agreed among themselves how any distributed funds should be allocated among themselves. The Settling Claimants state that the Judges ‘‘have the discretion, within a zone of reasonableness, to find that 95% of the royalties are not in controversy.’’ Motion at 4. As support for this assertion, they state that ‘‘[i]n the past four DART proceedings, nonsettling individual writer and publisher claimants collectively have either received less than one tenth of one percent (0.1%) of the royalty funds or have been dismissed altogether * * *. E:\FR\FM\01MRN1.SGM 01MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 40 (Tuesday, March 1, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11286-11287]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-4419]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Employment of 
Aliens in Agriculture in the United States: 2011 Adverse Effect Wage 
Rates, Allowable Charges for Agricultural Workers' Meals, and Maximum 
Travel Subsistence Reimbursement

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the 
Department of Labor (Department) is issuing this Notice to announce: 
(1) The 2011 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); (2) the allowable 
maximum amount for 2011 that employers may charge their H-2A workers 
for providing them with three meals a day; and (3) the maximum travel 
subsistence reimbursement which a worker with receipts may claim in 
2011.

DATES: Effective Date: March 1, 2011.

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 United States (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 in the U.S. unless the petitioner has 
received from the Department of Labor (Department) an H-2A labor 
certification. Approved labor certifications attest that: (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)(1), and 
1188(a); and 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5) and (6).
    The Department's regulations for the H-2A program require employers 
to offer and pay their U.S. and H-2A workers no less than the 
appropriate hourly AEWR in effect at the time the work is performed. 20 
CFR 655.122(l).

A. Adverse Effect Wage Rates for 2011

    Employers of H-2A workers must pay the highest of (i) the AEWR, in 
effect, at the time the work is performed; (ii) the applicable 
prevailing wage; or (iii) the statutory minimum wage, as specified in 
the regulations. 20 CFR 655.120(a). Except as otherwise provided in 20 
CFR part 655, Subpart B, the region-wide AEWR for all agricultural 
employment (except those occupations which are exempted under the 
special procedure provisions of 20 CFR 655.102) 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 United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) based on its quarterly wage survey. Pursuant to 20 
CFR 655.120(c), the Administrator of the Office of Foreign Labor 
Certification must publish USDA field and livestock worker (combined) 
wage data as AEWRs in a Federal Register Notice. Accordingly, the 2011 
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--2011 Adverse Effect Wage Rates
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           State                              2011 AEWRs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama....................................................        $9.12
Arizona....................................................         9.60
Arkansas...................................................         8.97
California.................................................        10.31
Colorado...................................................        10.48
Connecticut................................................        10.25
Delaware...................................................        10.60
Florida....................................................         9.50
Georgia....................................................         9.12
Hawaii.....................................................        12.01
Idaho......................................................         9.90
Illinois...................................................        10.84
Indiana....................................................        10.84
Iowa.......................................................        11.03
Kansas.....................................................        11.52
Kentucky...................................................         9.48
Louisiana..................................................         8.97
Maine......................................................        10.25
Maryland...................................................        10.60
Massachusetts..............................................        10.25
Michigan...................................................        10.62
Minnesota..................................................        10.62
Mississippi................................................         8.97
Missouri...................................................        11.03
Montana....................................................         9.90
Nebraska...................................................        11.52
Nevada.....................................................        10.48
New Hampshire..............................................        10.25
New Jersey.................................................        10.60
New Mexico.................................................         9.60
New York...................................................        10.25
North Carolina.............................................         9.30
North Dakota...............................................        11.52
Ohio.......................................................        10.84
Oklahoma...................................................         9.65
Oregon.....................................................        10.60
Pennsylvania...............................................        10.60
Rhode Island...............................................        10.25
South Carolina.............................................         9.12
South Dakota...............................................        11.52
Tennessee..................................................         9.48
Texas......................................................         9.65
Utah.......................................................        10.48
Vermont....................................................        10.25
Virginia...................................................         9.30
Washington.................................................        10.60
West Virginia..............................................         9.48
Wisconsin..................................................        10.62
Wyoming....................................................         9.90
------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. Allowable Meal Charges

    Among the minimum benefits and working conditions which the 
Department requires employers to offer their U.S. and H-2A workers are 
three

[[Page 11287]]

meals a day or free and convenient cooking and kitchen facilities. 20 
CFR 655.122(g). When the employer provides meals, the job offer must 
state the charge, if any, to the worker for such meals. 20 CFR 
655.122(g).
    The Department has published at 20 CFR 655.173(a) the methodology 
for determining the maximum amounts that H-2A agricultural employers 
may charge their U.S. and foreign workers for meals. These rules 
provide for annual adjustments of the previous year's allowable charges 
based upon Consumer Price Index (CPI) data. 20 CFR 655.173(a).
    Each year, the maximum charges allowed by 20 CFR 655.122(g) are 
adjusted by the same percentage as the 12-month percent change for the 
CPI for all Urban Consumers for Food (CPI-U for Food). The Department 
may permit an employer to charge workers no more than the higher 
maximum amount set forth in 20 CFR 655.173(b), as applicable, for 
providing them with three meals a day, if justified and sufficiently 
documented. The H-2A program's regulations require the Department 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 2010 
rates were published in the Federal Register at 75 FR 7293, Feb. 18, 
2010.
    The Department has determined the percentage change between 
December of 2009 and December of 2010 for the CPI-U for Food was .8 
percent. Accordingly, the maximum allowable charges under 20 CFR 
655.122(g) were adjusted using this percentage change, and the new 
permissible charges for 2011 shall be no more than $10.73 per day, 
unless the Department has approved a higher charge pursuant to 20 CFR 
655.173(b).

 C. Maximum Travel Subsistence Expense

    The regulations at 20 CFR 655.122(h) establish that the minimum 
daily travel subsistence expense, for which a worker is entitled to 
reimbursement, is at least as much as the employer would charge the 
worker for providing the worker with three meals a day during 
employment (if applicable), but in no event less than the amount 
permitted under 20 CFR 655.173(a). The regulation is silent about the 
maximum amount to which a qualifying worker is entitled.
    The Department based the maximum meals component on the standard 
Continental United States (CONUS) per diem rate established by the 
General Services Administration (GSA), published at 41 CFR Part 301, 
Appendix A. The CONUS meal component is now $46.00 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 at 75 percent 
of the subsistence for the first partial day of travel and 75 percent 
of the subsistence for the last partial day per quarter of a day. If a 
worker has no receipts, the employer is not obligated to reimburse 
above the minimum stated at 20 CFR 655.173(a), as specified above.

    Signed in Washington, DC this 18th day of February, 2011.
Jane Oates,
Assistant Secretary, Employment and Training Administration.
[FR Doc. 2011-4419 Filed 2-28-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FN-P

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