Wages and Salaries

On December 23, 2011, the President signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012.  The legislation contains language prohibiting the Department from implementing the Wage Rule during the 2012 fiscal year.  Based on Congressional intent to continue to implement the current H-2B regulations, the Department has published a Final Rule extending the effective date of the Wage Rule to apply to work performed on and after October 1, 2012. The Final Rule is accessible here.

The Department’s H-2A regulations at 20 CFR 655.120(l) provide that employers must pay their H-2A workers and workers in corresponding employment at least the highest of: (i) the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR); (ii) the prevailing wage; (iii) the prevailing piece rate; (iv) the agreed-upon collective bargaining wage, if applicable; or (v) the Federal or State minimum wage, in effect at the time the work is performed.

On November 18, 2011, the President signed into law the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012, Public Law 112-55. The legislation contains language prohibiting the Department from implementing, administering, or enforcing, before January 1, 2012, the H-2B Wage Rule. Based on Congressional intent to continue to implement the current H-2B regulations, the Department has published a Final Rule extending the effective date of the Wage Rule to apply to work performed on and after January 1, 2012.

In light of the Department's recent decision to postpone the effective date of the Wage Rule until November 30, 2011, DOL published this subsequent Federal Register Notice to provide guidance to those employers who received supplemental prevailing wage determination that have now been delayed.

The Department has posted a new Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) to assist employers and others in understanding how the Service Contract Act (SCA) wages are used by the OFLC in issuing H-2B prevailing wage determinations.

Wages for the 7/2011 - 6/2012 program year are now available and are effective 7/1/2011.

The Foreign Labor Certification Data Center is the location of the Online Wage Library for prevailing wage determinations, and the disclosure databases for the temporary and permanent programs. To access our databases or downloadable files click one of the links below.

Online Wage Library

[Federal Register: February 18, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 32)]
[Notices]              
[Page 7293-7294]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18fe10-59]                        

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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration

Here is a document USDOL (Wage and Hour Division) is using to send to employees.  This outlines the factors USDOL is most interested in when investigating an employer.

Procedures for O*NET Job Zone Assignment - The Job Zone classification provides O*NET users a guide to the vocational preparation levels (e.g., education, training, and work experience) of O*NET-SOC occupations. For more information on this please visit this link.
http://www.onetcenter.org/reports/JobZoneProcedure.html