Dec 19, 2023
AEWR update sparks reaction from growers

The U.S. Department of Labor’s annual update to Adverse Effect Wage Rates – mandated wages for foreign farmworkers on temporary visas – is drawing reaction from growers, including potato producers.

The new average AEWR, announced Dec. 14 and used for setting bond amounts for H-2A contractors, increased to $16.98, with state AEWR wages now ranging from $14.53 to $19.75.

“This announcement continues a pattern of chaotic annual changes in this mandatory minimum wage for agricultural workers,” RJ Andrus, National Potato Council president, said in a statement. “The volatile wage rate creates havoc for well-intended family farms seeking to use the H-2A program and budget for their annual operations. Its failures are a bipartisan call to Congress to finally address U.S. ag labor competitiveness through immigration reform.”

The new average AEWR, announced Dec. 14 and used for setting bond amounts for H-2A contractors, increased to $16.98. Photo: File

According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, AEWR has outpaced increases in the national average wage for most American workers for roughly a decade, outpacing the overall U.S. Employment Cost Index (ECI) in eight of the last 10 years.

In Michigan, Rep. Elissa Slotkin has co-sponsored a bill to freeze the minimum wage for H-2A workers.

Before the update, the AEWR in that state exceeded $17.34, up 13% from the previous year, according to Michigan Farm News. Post-update, Michigan’s AEWR is $18.50, according to the Labor Department’s online Foreign Labor Application Gateway.

The effective date of the updated AEWR in most states is Jan. 1, 2024.

The Labor’s Department’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification adjusts the AEWR annually based on the ECI. An employer seeking to employ foreign workers under the H-2A program is required to offer, advertise and pay a wage that is at least equal to AEWR when that is the highest applicable rate among the wage sources applicable to the job.

“The Department understands that agricultural employers play a vital role in our nation’s economy and that obtaining a reliable workforce is critical to producing the U.S. food supply,” reads a statement on a department web page. “The Department is also bound by its statutory mandate to protect workers in the U.S. from adverse effects on their wages or working conditions resulting from hiring foreign workers.”

2024 updates according to the Labor Department, listed by location,  AEWR, source and effective date:

Alabama $14.68  FLS  January 1, 2024
Alaska $18.02   OEWS  July 1, 2023
Arizona $16.32  FLS  January 1, 2024
Arkansas $14.53  FLS  January 1, 2024
California $19.75  FLS  January 1, 2024
Colorado $16.63  FLS January 1, 2024
Connecticut $17.80  FLS  January 1, 2024
Delaware $17.20  FLS  January 1, 2024
District of Columbia $20.72 OEWS July 1, 2023
Florida $14.77  FLS  January 1, 2024
Georgia $14.68  FLS  January 1, 2024
Guam $10.12 OEWS July 1, 2023
Hawaii $18.74  FLS  January 1, 2024
Idaho $16.54  FLS  January 1, 2024
Illinois $18.18  FLS  January 1, 2024
Indiana $18.18  FLS  January 1, 2024
Iowa $17.79  FLS  January 1, 2024
Kansas $18.32  FLS  January 1, 2024
Kentucky $15.14  FLS  January 1, 2024
Louisiana $14.53  FLS  January 1, 2024
Maine $17.80  FLS  January 1, 2024
Maryland $17.20  FLS  January 1, 2024
Massachusetts $17.80  FLS  January 1, 2024
Michigan $18.50  FLS January 1, 2024
Minnesota $18.50  FLS  January 1, 2024
Mississippi $14.53  FLS  January 1, 2024
Missouri $17.79  FLS January 1, 2024
Montana $16.54  FLS  January 1, 2024
Nebraska $18.32  FLS  January 1, 2024
Nevada $16.63  FLS  January 1, 2024
New Hampshire $17.80  FLS  January 1, 2024
New Jersey $17.20  FLS  January 1, 2024
New Mexico $16.32  FLS  January 1, 2024
New York $17.80  FLS  January 1, 2024
North Carolina $15.81  FLS  January 1, 2024
North Dakota $18.32  FLS  January 1, 2024
Ohio $18.18  FLS  January 1, 2024
Oklahoma $15.55  FLS  January 1, 2024
Oregon $19.25  FLS  January 1, 2024
Pennsylvania $17.20  FLS  January 1, 2024
Puerto Rico $9.70 OEWS July 1, 2023
Rhode Island $17.80  FLS  January 1, 2024
South Carolina $14.68  FLS January 1, 2024
South Dakota $18.32  FLS  January 1, 2024
Tennessee $15.14  FLS  January 1, 2024
Texas $15.55  FLS  January 1, 2024
Utah $16.63  FLS  January 1, 2024
Vermont $17.80  FLS  January 1, 2024
Virgin Islands $13.95 OEWS July 1, 2023
Virginia $15.81  FLS  January 1, 2024
Washington $19.25  FLS  January 1, 2024
West Virginia $15.14  FLS  January 1, 2024
Wisconsin $18.50  FLS  January 1, 2024
Wyoming $16.54  FLS  January 1, 2024

 


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