ETA Announces 2010 Adverse Effect Wage Rates and Maximum Meal and Travel Charges for H-2A Agricultural Worker Employers

The Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has announced (PDF, includes a state-by-state table of AEWRs for 2010) the new 2010 Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) and the 2010 maximum allowable meal and travel subsistence charges applicable to employers seeking to employ H-2A nonimmigrant workers to perform agricultural labor in the United States on a temporary or seasonal basis. The AEWR serves as the floor for the agricultural wage rates under the H-2A program.

The ETA noted that the H-2A AEWR is based on USDA data compiled through its Farm Labor Survey (FLS) Reports. The changes take effect March 15, 2010.