DOL Announces 2015 H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rates

On December 19, 2014, the Department of Labor’s (DOL) Office of Foreign Labor Certification published a notice (PDF) in the Federal Register announcing new Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) for each state, based on the Farm Labor Survey conducted by the Department of Agriculture. The AEWRs are the minimum hourly wage rates the DOL has determined must be offered and paid by employers to H-2A foreign agricultural workers and workers in corresponding employment for a particular agricultural job and area, so that the wages of similarly employed U.S. workers will not be adversely affected.

The 2015 AEWRs, broken down by state, range from a low of $10 (Alabama) to a high of $13.59 (Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota).