This year marked important progress on ag labor reform after decades of USApple advocacy on this critical issue. USDA announced it will discontinue use of the flawed Farm Labor Survey to underpin the H-2A Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR). It now relies on Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data going forward. Under the new system, each state has two AEWR skill levels, and employers may deduct an hourly amount for H-2A workers living in employer-provided housing.
In addition to countless meetings with policy-makers in Congress and the Trump Administration, USApple bolstered those efforts by submitting written comments to the Department of Labor in support of the new interim H-2A wage methodology, while recommending targeted refinements. Read our comments here.