Decision leaves interim rule changing AEWR calculations in effect

A federal court decision has left an interim rule changing how Adverse Effect Wage Rates (AEWR) are determined in effect.

On May 14, a judge denied a request for a preliminary injunction to halt the enforcement of a U.S. Department of Labor rule updating how AEWR are calculated for non-range H-2A occupations.

The U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of California released an order (.pdf) on May 14 found that plaintiffs failed to demonstrate irreparable harm. The DOL’s interim final rule stays in effect as a result of the ruling.

Last November, United Farm Workers, the UFW Foundation and 18 farmworkers filed a lawsuit to reverse the interim final rule changing AEWR calculations for the H-2A guest worker program. Other industry groups greeted the changes with applause and optimism, with members of the Ag Wage Reform Coalition pushing to make the changes permanent.

Western Growers and the National Council of Agricultural Employers (NCAE) were among groups which filed an amicus brief supporting DOL’s position.

“The court’s decision to deny preliminary injunction to UFW ensures that American farmers will be able to benefit from the historic regulatory relief provided by the Trump administration’s final rule,” NCAE president and CEO John Hollay wrote in an email to Spudman. “While more work needs to be done to make this rule final and ultimately codify it into law, farmers can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that they won’t be burdened with artificially inflated wages that threaten to destroy American agriculture if left unchecked.”