Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Employment of Foreign Workers in Agriculture in the United States: Adverse Effect Wage Rates for Non-Range Occupations in 2023, 77142-77143 [2022-27332]
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 241 / Friday, December 16, 2022 / Notices
monthly AEWR of $1,901.21, the
agreed-upon collective bargaining wage,
or the applicable minimum wage
imposed by Federal or State law or
judicial action at the time work is
performed on or after the effective date
of this notice.
Authority: 20 CFR 655.211(b).
Brent Parton,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment
and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2022–27333 Filed 12–15–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–FP–P
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training
Administration
Labor Certification Process for the
Temporary Employment of Foreign
Workers in Agriculture in the United
States: Adverse Effect Wage Rates for
Non-Range Occupations in 2023
Employment and Training
Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
Adverse Effect Wage Rates for 2023
The Employment and
Training Administration of the
Department of Labor (DOL) is issuing
this notice to announce the 2023
Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) for
the employment of temporary or
seasonal nonimmigrant foreign workers
(H–2A workers) to perform agricultural
labor or services other than the herding
or production of livestock on the range.
AEWRs are the minimum wage rates the
DOL has determined must be offered
and paid by employers to H–2A workers
and workers in corresponding
employment to help ensure the
Department meets its statutory
obligation to certify that the
employment of H–2A foreign workers
will not have an adverse effect on the
wages of agricultural workers in the
United States (U.S.) similarly employed.
In this notice, DOL announces updates
of the AEWRs and the average AEWR,
which is used to calculate adjustments
to required bond amounts for H–2A
Labor Contractors.
DATES: These rates are applicable
January 1, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Brian Pasternak, Administrator, Office
of Foreign Labor Certification,
Employment and Training
Administration, U.S. Department of
Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW,
Room N–5311, Washington, DC 20210,
telephone: (202) 693–8200 (this is not a
toll-free number). Individuals with
hearing or speech impairments may
access the telephone numbers above via
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:05 Dec 15, 2022
Jkt 259001
TTY/TDD by calling the toll-free Federal
Information Relay Service at 1 (877)
889–5627.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Services of
the Department of Homeland Security
will not approve an employer’s petition
for the admission of H–2A
nonimmigrant temporary and seasonal
agricultural workers in the U.S. unless
the petitioner has received an H–2A
labor certification from DOL. The labor
certification provides 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(s) in such labor or
services will not adversely affect the
wages and working conditions of
workers in the U.S. similarly employed.
See 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a),
1184(c)(1), and 1188(a); 8 CFR
214.2(h)(5); 20 CFR 655.100.
DOL’s H–2A regulations at 20 CFR
655.122(l) provide that employers must
pay their H–2A workers and workers in
corresponding employment at least the
highest of: (i) the AEWR; (ii) a
prevailing wage rate if the Office of
Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC)
Administrator has approved a prevailing
wage survey for the applicable crop
activity or agricultural activity and, if
applicable, a distinct work task or tasks
performed in that activity; (iii) the
agreed-upon collective bargaining wage
rate; (iv) the Federal minimum wage
rate; or (v) the State minimum wage
rate, whichever is highest, for every
hour or portion thereof worked during
a pay period. Further, when the AEWR
is adjusted during a work contract and
is higher than the highest of the
previous AEWR, a prevailing rate for the
crop activity or agricultural activity and,
if applicable, a distinct work task or
tasks performed in that activity and
geographic area, the agreed-upon
collective bargaining wage, the Federal
minimum wage rate, or the State
minimum wage rate, the employer must
pay at least that adjusted AEWR upon
the effective date of the new rate, as
provided in the applicable Federal
Register Notice. See 20 CFR
655.120(b)(3). Similarly, when the
AEWR is adjusted during a work
contract and lower than the wage rate
that is guaranteed on the job order, the
employer must continue to pay at least
the wage rate guaranteed on the job
order. See 20 CFR 655.120(b)(4).
On November 5, 2020, DOL published
a final rule, Adverse Effect Wage Rate
PO 00000
Frm 00086
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Methodology for the Temporary
Employment of H–2A Nonimmigrants in
Non-Range Occupations in the United
States, 85 FR 70445 (2020 AEWR Final
Rule), to establish a new methodology
for setting hourly AEWRs, effective
December 21, 2020. Litigation followed
the 2020 AEWR Final Rule’s
publication. On December 23, 2020—
two days after the 2020 AEWR Final
Rule went into effect—the court in
United Farm Workers, et al. v. Dep’t of
Labor, et al., No. 20–cv–01690 issued an
order preliminarily enjoining the
Department from further implementing
the 2020 AEWR Final Rule and ordering
the Department to use the 2010 H–2A
Final Rule methodology for establishing
hourly AEWRs.1 On April 4, 2022, the
court vacated the 2020 AEWR Final
Rule.2 Accordingly, DOL has used the
methodology set forth in the 2010 H–2A
Final Rule to determine the 2023
AEWRs.
The 2023 AEWRs for all agricultural
employment (except for the herding or
production of livestock on the range,
which is covered by 20 CFR 655.200
through 655.235) 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) in the State or
region as published by the U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA) in
the November 23, 2022, Farm Labor
Report. DOL’s regulation, 20 CFR
655.120(b)(2), requires that the OFLC
Administrator publish the USDA field
and livestock worker (combined) wage
data as AEWRs in a Federal Register
Notice. Accordingly, the 2023 AEWRs to
be paid for agricultural work performed
by H–2A and workers in corresponding
employment on and after the effective
date of this notice are set forth in the
table below:
TABLE—2023 ADVERSE EFFECT WAGE
RATES
State 2023 AEWRs
Alabama ....................................
Arizona ......................................
Arkansas ...................................
California ...................................
Colorado ...................................
Connecticut ...............................
Delaware ...................................
Florida .......................................
Georgia .....................................
Hawaii .......................................
Idaho .........................................
Illinois ........................................
Indiana ......................................
Iowa ..........................................
1 509
$13.67
15.62
13.67
18.65
16.34
16.95
16.55
14.33
13.67
17.25
15.68
17.17
17.17
17.54
F. Supp. 3d 1225 (E.D. Cal. 2020).
20–cv–01690–DAD–BAK, 2022 WL 1004855
(E.D. Cal. April 4, 2022).
2 No.
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 241 / Friday, December 16, 2022 / Notices
TABLE—2023 ADVERSE EFFECT WAGE MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE
CORPORATION
RATES—Continued
[MCC FR 22–17]
State 2023 AEWRs
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
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 ...................................
17.33
14.26
13.67
16.95
16.55
16.95
17.34
17.34
13.67
17.54
15.68
17.33
16.34
16.95
16.55
15.62
16.95
14.91
17.33
17.17
14.87
17.97
16.55
16.95
13.67
17.33
14.26
14.87
16.34
16.95
14.91
17.97
14.26
17.34
15.68
The AEWRs set forth in the table
above are the AEWRs applicable to the
SOC 45–2092 (Farmworkers and
Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and
Greenhouse), published by the OFLC
Administrator in accordance with 20
CFR 655.120(b)(2). Accordingly, the
simple average of these AEWRs
constitutes the average AEWR. See 20
CFR 655.103(b) (definition of average
AEWR). The simple average is
calculated by finding the sum of the
AEWRs listed in the table above, then
dividing by the total number of AEWRs,
which is currently 49 ($790.61/49 =
$16.13). On and after the effective date
of this notice, the average AEWR to be
used to calculate the bond amounts
required under 20 CFR 655.132(c)(2)(ii)
is $16.13.
Authority: 20 CFR 655.120(b)(2); 20
CFR 655.103(b).
Brent Parton,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment
and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2022–27332 Filed 12–15–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–FP–P
VerDate Sep<11>2014
20:05 Dec 15, 2022
Jkt 259001
Report on the Selection of Eligible
Countries for Fiscal Year 2023
Millennium Challenge
Corporation.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
This report is provided in
accordance with the Millennium
Challenge Act of 2003, as amended. The
report is set forth in full below.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:
Report on the Selection of Eligible
Countries for Fiscal Year 2023
Summary
This report is provided in accordance
with section 608(d)(1) of the
Millennium Challenge Act of 2003, as
amended (the Act) (22 U.S.C.
7707(d)(1)).
The Act authorizes the provision of
assistance under section 605 of the Act
(22 U.S.C. 7704) to countries that enter
into compacts with the United States to
support policies and programs that
advance the progress of such countries
in achieving lasting poverty reduction
through economic growth, and are in
furtherance of the Act. The Act requires
the Millennium Challenge Corporation
(MCC) to determine the countries that
will be eligible to receive assistance for
the fiscal year, based on their
demonstrated commitment to just and
democratic governance, economic
freedom, and investing in their people,
as well as on the opportunity to reduce
poverty through economic growth in the
country. The Act also requires the
submission of reports to appropriate
congressional committees and the
publication of notices in the Federal
Register that identify, among other
things:
1. The countries that are ‘‘candidate
countries’’ for assistance for fiscal year
(FY) 2023 based on their per-capita
income levels and their eligibility to
receive assistance under U.S. law, and
countries that would be candidate
countries, but for specified legal
prohibitions on assistance (section
608(a) of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7707(a)));
2. The criteria and methodology that
the Board of Directors of MCC (the
Board) used to measure and evaluate the
policy performance of the ‘‘candidate
countries’’ consistent with the
requirements of section 607 of the Act
in order to determine ‘‘eligible
countries’’ from among the ‘‘candidate
countries’’ (section 608(b) of the Act (22
U.S.C. 7707(b))); and
PO 00000
Frm 00087
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
77143
3. The list of countries determined by
the Board to be ‘‘eligible countries’’ for
FY 2023, with justification for eligibility
determination and selection for compact
negotiation, including with which of the
eligible countries the Board will seek to
enter into compacts (section 608(d) of
the Act (22 U.S.C. 7707(d))).
This is the third of the abovedescribed reports by MCC for FY 2023.
It identifies countries determined by the
Board to be eligible under section 607
of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7706) for FY 2023
with which the MCC will seek to enter
into compacts under section 609 of the
Act (22 U.S.C. 7708), as well as the
justification for such decisions. The
report also identifies countries selected
by the Board to receive assistance under
MCC’s threshold program pursuant to
section 616 of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7715).
Eligible Countries
The Board met on December 8, 2022
to select those eligible countries with
which the United States, through MCC,
will seek to enter into a Millennium
Challenge Compact pursuant to section
607 of the Act (22 U.S.C. 7706). The
Board selected the following eligible
countries for such assistance for FY
2023: Senegal, The Gambia, and Togo.
The Board also selected the following
previously selected countries for
compact assistance for FY 2023: Coˆte
d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, and
Zambia.
Criteria
In accordance with the Act and with
the ‘‘Report on the Criteria and
Methodology for Determining the
Eligibility of Candidate Countries for
Millennium Challenge Account
Assistance in Fiscal Year 2023’’
formally submitted to Congress on
September 27, 2022, selection was based
primarily on a country’s overall
performance in three broad policy
categories: Ruling Justly, Encouraging
Economic Freedom, and Investing in
People. The Board relied, to the fullest
extent possible, upon transparent and
independent indicators to assess
countries’ policy performance and
demonstrated commitment in these
three broad policy areas. The Board
compared countries’ performance on the
indicators relative to their income-level
peers, evaluating them in comparison to
either the group of countries with a GNI
per capita equal to or less than $2,045,
or the group with a GNI per capita
between $2,046 and $4,255.
The criteria and methodology used to
assess countries, including the
methodology for the annual scorecards,
are outlined in the ‘‘Report on the
Criteria and Methodology for
E:\FR\FM\16DEN1.SGM
16DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 241 (Friday, December 16, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77142-77143]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-27332]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Labor Certification Process for the Temporary Employment of
Foreign Workers in Agriculture in the United States: Adverse Effect
Wage Rates for Non-Range Occupations in 2023
AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Employment and Training Administration of the Department
of Labor (DOL) is issuing this notice to announce the 2023 Adverse
Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) for the employment of temporary or seasonal
nonimmigrant foreign workers (H-2A workers) to perform agricultural
labor or services other than the herding or production of livestock on
the range. AEWRs are the minimum wage rates the DOL has determined must
be offered and paid by employers to H-2A workers and workers in
corresponding employment to help ensure the Department meets its
statutory obligation to certify that the employment of H-2A foreign
workers will not have an adverse effect on the wages of agricultural
workers in the United States (U.S.) similarly employed. In this notice,
DOL announces updates of the AEWRs and the average AEWR, which is used
to calculate adjustments to required bond amounts for H-2A Labor
Contractors.
DATES: These rates are applicable January 1, 2023.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Brian Pasternak, Administrator, Office
of Foreign Labor Certification, Employment and Training Administration,
U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Room N-5311,
Washington, DC 20210, telephone: (202) 693-8200 (this is not a toll-
free number). Individuals with hearing or speech impairments may access
the telephone numbers above via TTY/TDD by calling the toll-free
Federal Information Relay Service at 1 (877) 889-5627.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services of the Department of Homeland Security will not approve an
employer's petition for the admission of H-2A nonimmigrant temporary
and seasonal agricultural workers in the U.S. unless the petitioner has
received an H-2A labor certification from DOL. The labor certification
provides 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(s) in such labor or services
will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers
in the U.S. similarly employed. See 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(a),
1184(c)(1), and 1188(a); 8 CFR 214.2(h)(5); 20 CFR 655.100.
Adverse Effect Wage Rates for 2023
DOL's H-2A regulations at 20 CFR 655.122(l) provide that employers
must pay their H-2A workers and workers in corresponding employment at
least the highest of: (i) the AEWR; (ii) a prevailing wage rate if the
Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) Administrator has approved
a prevailing wage survey for the applicable crop activity or
agricultural activity and, if applicable, a distinct work task or tasks
performed in that activity; (iii) the agreed-upon collective bargaining
wage rate; (iv) the Federal minimum wage rate; or (v) the State minimum
wage rate, whichever is highest, for every hour or portion thereof
worked during a pay period. Further, when the AEWR is adjusted during a
work contract and is higher than the highest of the previous AEWR, a
prevailing rate for the crop activity or agricultural activity and, if
applicable, a distinct work task or tasks performed in that activity
and geographic area, the agreed-upon collective bargaining wage, the
Federal minimum wage rate, or the State minimum wage rate, the employer
must pay at least that adjusted AEWR upon the effective date of the new
rate, as provided in the applicable Federal Register Notice. See 20 CFR
655.120(b)(3). Similarly, when the AEWR is adjusted during a work
contract and lower than the wage rate that is guaranteed on the job
order, the employer must continue to pay at least the wage rate
guaranteed on the job order. See 20 CFR 655.120(b)(4).
On November 5, 2020, DOL published a final rule, Adverse Effect
Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A
Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States, 85 FR
70445 (2020 AEWR Final Rule), to establish a new methodology for
setting hourly AEWRs, effective December 21, 2020. Litigation followed
the 2020 AEWR Final Rule's publication. On December 23, 2020--two days
after the 2020 AEWR Final Rule went into effect--the court in United
Farm Workers, et al. v. Dep't of Labor, et al., No. 20-cv-01690 issued
an order preliminarily enjoining the Department from further
implementing the 2020 AEWR Final Rule and ordering the Department to
use the 2010 H-2A Final Rule methodology for establishing hourly
AEWRs.\1\ On April 4, 2022, the court vacated the 2020 AEWR Final
Rule.\2\ Accordingly, DOL has used the methodology set forth in the
2010 H-2A Final Rule to determine the 2023 AEWRs.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 509 F. Supp. 3d 1225 (E.D. Cal. 2020).
\2\ No. 20-cv-01690-DAD-BAK, 2022 WL 1004855 (E.D. Cal. April 4,
2022).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The 2023 AEWRs for all agricultural employment (except for the
herding or production of livestock on the range, which is covered by 20
CFR 655.200 through 655.235) 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) in the State or region as
published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in the November
23, 2022, Farm Labor Report. DOL's regulation, 20 CFR 655.120(b)(2),
requires that the OFLC Administrator publish the USDA field and
livestock worker (combined) wage data as AEWRs in a Federal Register
Notice. Accordingly, the 2023 AEWRs to be paid for agricultural work
performed by H-2A and workers in corresponding employment on and after
the effective date of this notice are set forth in the table below:
Table--2023 Adverse Effect Wage Rates
------------------------------------------------------------------------
State 2023 AEWRs
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alabama.................................................... $13.67
Arizona.................................................... 15.62
Arkansas................................................... 13.67
California................................................. 18.65
Colorado................................................... 16.34
Connecticut................................................ 16.95
Delaware................................................... 16.55
Florida.................................................... 14.33
Georgia.................................................... 13.67
Hawaii..................................................... 17.25
Idaho...................................................... 15.68
Illinois................................................... 17.17
Indiana.................................................... 17.17
Iowa....................................................... 17.54
[[Page 77143]]
Kansas..................................................... 17.33
Kentucky................................................... 14.26
Louisiana.................................................. 13.67
Maine...................................................... 16.95
Maryland................................................... 16.55
Massachusetts.............................................. 16.95
Michigan................................................... 17.34
Minnesota.................................................. 17.34
Mississippi................................................ 13.67
Missouri................................................... 17.54
Montana.................................................... 15.68
Nebraska................................................... 17.33
Nevada..................................................... 16.34
New Hampshire.............................................. 16.95
New Jersey................................................. 16.55
New Mexico................................................. 15.62
New York................................................... 16.95
North Carolina............................................. 14.91
North Dakota............................................... 17.33
Ohio....................................................... 17.17
Oklahoma................................................... 14.87
Oregon..................................................... 17.97
Pennsylvania............................................... 16.55
Rhode Island............................................... 16.95
South Carolina............................................. 13.67
South Dakota............................................... 17.33
Tennessee.................................................. 14.26
Texas...................................................... 14.87
Utah....................................................... 16.34
Vermont.................................................... 16.95
Virginia................................................... 14.91
Washington................................................. 17.97
West Virginia.............................................. 14.26
Wisconsin.................................................. 17.34
Wyoming.................................................... 15.68
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The AEWRs set forth in the table above are the AEWRs applicable to
the SOC 45-2092 (Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and
Greenhouse), published by the OFLC Administrator in accordance with 20
CFR 655.120(b)(2). Accordingly, the simple average of these AEWRs
constitutes the average AEWR. See 20 CFR 655.103(b) (definition of
average AEWR). The simple average is calculated by finding the sum of
the AEWRs listed in the table above, then dividing by the total number
of AEWRs, which is currently 49 ($790.61/49 = $16.13). On and after the
effective date of this notice, the average AEWR to be used to calculate
the bond amounts required under 20 CFR 655.132(c)(2)(ii) is $16.13.
Authority: 20 CFR 655.120(b)(2); 20 CFR 655.103(b).
Brent Parton,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2022-27332 Filed 12-15-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-FP-P
