Federal Agencies, FR Regulations & Notices
DOL Interim Final Rule on Computation of Prevailing Wage Levels
10/8/20
AILA Doc. No. 20100638.
Business Immigration, H-1B & H-1B1 Specialty Occupation, Labor Certification (Permanent)
DOL interim final rule (IFR) amending the regulations governing permanent labor certifications and Labor Condition Applications to incorporate changes to the computation of prevailing wage levels. The IFR is effective 10/8/20, with comments due 11/9/20. (85 FR 63872, 10/8/20)
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
20 CFR Parts 655 and 656
[DOL Docket No. ETA–2020–0006]
RIN 1205–AC00
Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States
ACTION: Interim final rule; request for comments.
The IFR will only apply to the following:
- An Application for Prevailing Wage Determination, Form ETA-9141, pending with OFLC's National Prevailing Wage Center (NPWC) as of the effective date of the regulation;
- An Application for Prevailing Wage Determination, Form ETA-9141, filed with the NPWC on or after the effective date of the regulation; and
- A Labor Condition Application for Nonimmigrant Workers (LCA), Form ETA-9035/9035E, filed with OFLC on or after the effective date of the regulation where the OES survey data is the prevailing wage source, and where the employer did not obtain the prevailing wage determination from the NPWC prior to the effective date of the regulation.
Implementation Schedule:
- On October 8, 2020, employers and their authorized attorneys or agents will be able to:
- Access revised OES prevailing wage data for each SOC and area of intended employment at https://www.flcdatacenter.com/;
- Use the Foreign Labor Application Gateway (FLAG) system to submit LCAs at https://flag.dol.gov/; and
- Continue to submit requests for prevailing wage determinations using the FLAG system.
- On October 13, 2020, the NPWC will begin issuing prevailing wage determinations using the revised OES prevailing wage data computed for the Interim Final Rule. This brief delay in issuing wage determinations is necessary to complete the required technical changes to the FLAG system's internal prevailing wage determination module and reduce the risk of unintended system problems or errors that may impact customers and OFLC staff.
- OFLC will continue to issue non-OES based prevailing wages (e.g. employer-provided surveys or collective bargaining agreements) without delay.
Cite as AILA Doc. No. 20100638.
Related Resources
- OFLC Announces Plan for Reissuing Certain Prevailing Wage Determinations Issued Under DOL’s Prevailing Wage Rule
- OFLC Announces Updates to Implementation of Prevailing Wage Rule in Response to District Court Orders
- Featured Issue: DHS and DOL Rules Altering the H-1B Process and Prevailing Wage Levels
- DOL Press Release: U.S. Department of Labor Issues Interim Final Rule to Protect Wages of American Workers – October 6, 2020
- Practice Alert: DOL Interim Final Rule Advance Copy Indicates Changes to Computation of Prevailing Wage Effective October 8, 2020