Steep 2022 H-2A Wage Increases Slated for Pennsylvania

Washington, D.C. - Most H-2A visa users are bracing for hefty 2022 wage increases. Though the new wages won’t be official until published in the Federal Register later this month by the Department of Labor (DOL), we know what to expect, since the USDA’s Farm Labor Survey (FLS) results are out.  The regional gross average wages that become the H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWRs) are derived from this survey. The AEWR is typically the applicable minimum wage that must be paid to H-2A workers and U.S. workers in “corresponding employment” who are performing any job tasks in common.

Growers in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania will take the biggest hit, with a 9.6 percent increase. California’s AEWR will increase over 8 percent; Arizona, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Virginia will go up in excess of 7 percent; and Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia will see an increase of 6.7 percent. The national average increase is above 6%. We summarize the rates here. 

Is there any relief in sight? The only sure way to relief is federal legislation. Provisions of the House-passed Farm Workforce Modernization Act (FWMA) would freeze the AEWR for one year, then limit annual AEWR increases to 3.25% for most states. For 2022, only six states (AL, FL, GA, ID, MT, SC, and WY) will see increases below that cap, meaning that if the FWMA provisions were law, nearly every state would get some needed relief. AmericanHort and coalition allies continue to press Senate negotiators to develop and pass their version of the FWMA.

Meanwhile, further regulatory changes to the AEWR are in the works, but these changes will not be helpful for growers. On December 1, DOL published a proposed rule that would further modify the AEWR methodology by requiring specific prevailing wages for certain job duties, such as truck-driving/hauling and on-farm construction. Such wages, sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment Statistics database, may be significantly higher than the traditional AEWRs. If DOL proceeds as proposed, inclusion of such specialized tasks in an H-2A job order would result in the highest applicable wage being required for all workers employed pursuant to the job order, and any US workers in corresponding employment. 

AmericanHort and other ag leaders and legal experts huddled at a recent agricultural labor forum to begin assessing how to best challenge the proposal. We also discussed growing concerns over DOL questioning seasonality and in some cases denying applications for H-2A temporary labor certification over this issue.