Aug 28, 2025

National ag groups applaud AEWR decision

A federal court in Louisiana on Aug. 27 vacated the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2023 Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) Methodology rule, bringing a much-needed measure of wage stability for agricultural employers as Florida growers prepare for their upcoming season.

The rule, published in February 2023, based the H-2A program’s AEWRs on the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey in addition to the Farm Labor Survey (FLS), applying permanent, non-agricultural wage data to seasonal agricultural jobs and subjecting growers to wage increases every six months.

For years, agricultural groups across the country have advocated for reforms to the AEWR methodology but had to wait until the 2023 rule to challenge the AEWR in court, according to a news release.

Once published, plaintiffs including the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association (FFVA), the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) and the Florida Growers Association, filed suit in federal court in Tampa, seeking to invalidate the new OEWS methodology and the existing FLS methodology, and challenging DOL’s application of AEWR.

“The AEWR Methodology rule drastically increased costs for growers and exacerbated the agricultural labor crisis,” Jamie Fussell, FFVA’s director of labor relations, said in the release. “We’re grateful to Secretary Chavez-DeRemer for her handling of this case and for recognizing the sense of urgency that is still needed to stabilize wages for agriculture.”

At a time when growers face unprecedented challenges, a group of Florida organizations expressed appreciation for Secretary Chavez-DeRemer’s recognition of the threat that the AEWR Methodology rule brought to the long-term sustainability of agriculture in Florida and across the nation, according to the release.

“The vacating of the rule is great news, and we thank Secretary Chavez-DeRemer for recognizing the unlawful nature of the AEWR rule,” Michael Marsh, NCAE’s president said in the release. “This decision brings welcome wage relief to some growers who had been subjected to these ‘special’ wage rates for routine tasks done on the farm for generations.”

Michelle Williamson, director of operations for Dover, Florida, strawberry grower G&F and Franberry Farms, welcomed the ruling.

“As we prepare for our next strawberry season, we’re grateful for the sense of relief and reprieve this decision will bring,” she said in the release.

Though the court in Louisiana granted relief from the OEWS-based AEWR, the FLS-based AEWR is still effective, and the underlying premise of adverse effect remains unresolved. Without further action, Florida growers will continue to be subject to the volatile FLS-based AEWR, which spiked nearly 10% this past year and 15% just two years ago, according to the release.

“Today’s action is welcomed by the agricultural community, but final relief from the remaining AEWR methodology is still needed to ensure growers in labor intensive agriculture throughout the United States can remain viable,” Paul Meador, Florida Growers Association, said in the release.

Faced with a worsening shortage of domestic labor, growers have reluctantly turned to the legal H-2A program. Its regulations are making the program too costly to use, forcing farmers to make tough operational decisions and jeopardizing the future of American agriculture and our nation’s food security.

“We have much work left to do,” Marsh said in the release. “Farmers must have relief if we are going to continue to produce food in America.”