H-2A Guest Worker Wage Calculations Changed in DOL Final Rule

The Labor Department released a final rule Monday that changes how the agency calculates wage rates for temporary guest workers in the H-2A agricultural visa program.

Beginning in 2023, and annually thereafter, the DOL will adjust the program’s “adverse effect wage rates” by the percentage change in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries for the preceding 12-month period for the majority of jobs under the H-2A program.

For all other agricultural jobs, which are often supervisory or higher-skilled roles, the agency will set and annually adjust wage rates using the average hourly wages for ...