On Thursday, October 8, 2020, The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL)
is expected to publish an interim final rule and new prevailing
wage figures that will increase the prevailing wage requirements
for certain visa categories.
What happened?
The final rule from the DOL changes the way the agency
determines the minimum wage that employers must offer foreign
workers. Specifically, it significantly increases the minimum wages
that employers must offer to nonimmigrant workers on H-1B, H-1B1
and E-3 status as well as employment-based green card applicants.
Upon publication, the rule will go into effect immediately;
however, there will be a 30-day comment period.
The DOL uses Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) data from
the Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine the average wage paid
for a specific occupation in a given geographic area and sets
prevailing wage minimums based on this data. The DOL has yet to
release the new wage minimums but is expected to do so on
