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You are receiving this bulletin as a subscriber to the Department of Labor Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) website. You can view the original announcements here: https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/foreign-labor. August 3, 2026. Employment and Training Administration Publishes Federal Register Notice (FRN) Updating the H-2A Hourly Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) for All Non-Range Occupations The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) has published an FRN announcing the AEWRs for the employment of all non-range H-2A job opportunities. AEWRs are the minimum wage rates the Department of Labor (DOL) has determined must be offered, advertised in recruitment, and paid by employers to H-2A workers and workers in corresponding employment for a particular occupation and area so that the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed will not be adversely affected. The interim final rule, Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H-2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range Occupations in the United States, 90 FR 47914 (Oct. 2, 2025), established the methodology for setting hourly AEWRs, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey. The final rule, Improving Protections for Workers in Temporary Agricultural Employment in the United States, 89 FR 33898 (April 29, 2024), revised the regulation at 20 CFR 655.120(b)(2) to state “[t]he updated AEWR will be effective as of the date of publication of the notice in the Federal Register.” This FRN has two effective dates in light of the District Court's decision in Kansas, et al. v. U.S. Department of Labor, No. 2:24-cv-00076-LGW-BWC (S.D. Ga., Aug. 26, 2024), which enjoined DOL from enforcing this regulatory requirement for 17 covered states and with respect to certain entities. For those persons covered by the Kansas decision, the Department applies a two-week delayed effective date in applying the new AEWRs. In any states or territories not covered by the Kansas decision, the regulatory requirement remains applicable and the new AEWR rates will be immediately effective. Important Note: In the event an employer's job opportunity requires the performance of agricultural labor or services that are not encompassed in a single SOC code's description and tasks, the occupational classification and applicable AEWR will be determined based on the majority (i.e., more than 50 percent) of the workdays during the contract period the worker will spend performing the agricultural labor or services, including duties that are closely and directly related, as well as the qualifications listed in the job order. 20 CFR 655.120(b)(7).
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