Why It Matters
The Trump administration's Department of Labor (DOL) faces a court-ordered deadline of Dec. 30 to replace the H-2A adverse effect wage rate (AEWR) methodology it issued on an emergency basis last year, according to a new Congressional Research Service (CRS) report.
The Immigration and Nationality Act requires DOL to find that H-2A employment will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers, but it does not specify a method for making that determination.
The current methodology, set by DOL's 2025 interim final rule (IFR), remains in effect, but the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California found its challenged portions procedurally defective and arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act on Aug. 26. A Sept. 2 DOL notice said no employer is currently obligated to pay back wages, though certain employers may later have to adjust wages if new applicable rates are higher.
The Big Picture
The regulatory gap that prompted the 2025 IFR traces to two events in August 2025. On Aug. 25, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana vacated DOL's 2023 AEWR final rule, which had used Farm Labor Survey (FLS) data to set rates. Three days later, the National Agricultural Statistics Service announced it was cancelling the FLS, eliminating the data source the then-applicable 2010 rule relied upon. On October 2, 2025, DOL issued the 2025 IFR on an emergency basis, bypassing usual procedures, about 38 days after a federal court vacated the 2023 rule on August 25, 2025.
The 2025 IFR replaced that framework with a two-tier, state-level structure. Entry-level AEWRs are set at the average wage of the lowest-paid third of workers in an occupation in each state or territory, and experienced AEWRs reflect the average for all workers. Both tiers include a deduction for employer-provided housing, calculated using Department of Housing and Urban Development four-bedroom Fair Market Rents.
For field and livestock worker occupations covering the vast majority of certified H-2A jobs, entry-level AEWRs under the methodology now ordered replaced ranged among states from $8.84 per hour in Mississippi to $14.91 per hour in Nebraska. Experienced AEWRs ranged from $13.41 per hour in Florida to $19.22 per hour in Nebraska.
The Bottom Line
The Oct. 2 court order gives DOL 89 days to issue a replacement IFR, with the Dec. 30 deadline also marking when the 2025 rule's vacatur takes effect. DOL said it would continue to advance its position in the litigation while developing the replacement methodology.
A federal court has held portions of the Labor Department's 2025 methodology for calculating non-range adverse effect wage rates unlawful and ordered DOL to issue a new interim final rule by December 30, 2026.
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