(a) Employer obligation. (1) Except for occupations covered by §§ 655.200 through 655.235, to comply with its obligation under § 655.122(l), an employer must offer, advertise in its recruitment, and pay a wage that is at least the highest of:

(i) The AEWR;

(ii) A prevailing wage rate, whether expressed as a piece rate or other unit of pay, if the OFLC Administrator has approved a prevailing wage survey for the applicable crop activity or agricultural activity and, if applicable, a distinct work task or tasks performed in that activity, meeting the requirements of paragraph (c) of this section;

(iii) The agreed-upon collective bargaining wage;

(iv) The Federal minimum wage;

(v) The State minimum wage; or

(vi) Any other wage rate the employer intends to pay.

(2) Where the wage rates set forth in paragraph (a)(1) of this section are expressed in different units of pay (including piece rates or other pay structures), the employer must list the highest applicable wage rate for each unit of pay in its job order and must offer and advertise all of these wage rates in its recruitment. The employer's obligation to pay the highest of these wage rates is set forth at § 655.122(l)(2).

(b) AEWR determinations. (1) Except for occupations governed by the procedures in §§ 655.200 through 655.235, the OFLC Administrator will determine the AEWRs as follows:

(i) For occupations included in the field and livestock workers (combined) category:

(A) If a statewide annual average hourly gross wage in the State at each skill level, as required by paragraph (b)(2) of this section, is reported by the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, that wage shall be the AEWR for the State; or

(B) If a statewide annual average hourly gross wage in the State at either skill level is not reported by the OEWS, the AEWR for the occupations shall be the national annual average hourly gross wage at that skill level, as reported by the OEWS survey.

(ii) For all other occupations:

(A) The AEWR for each occupation shall be the statewide annual average hourly gross wage for that occupation in the State at each skill level, as reported by the OEWS survey; or

(B) If a statewide annual average hourly gross wage in the State at either skill level is not reported by the OEWS survey, the AEWR for each occupation shall be the national annual average hourly gross wage for that occupation at that skill level, as reported by the OEWS survey.

(iii) The AEWR methodologies described in paragraphs (b)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section shall apply to all job orders submitted, as set forth in § 655.121, on or after October 2, 2025, including job orders filed concurrently with an Application for Temporary Employment Certification to the NPC for emergency situations under § 655.134.

(iv) For purposes of this section, the terms State and statewide include the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

(2) The OFLC Administrator shall determine the AEWRs described in paragraphs (b)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section at two skill levels.

(i) Skill level I shall be computed as the arithmetic mean of the first one-third of the wage distribution for the occupation(s); and

(ii) Skill level II shall be computed as the arithmetic mean of the entire wage distribution for the occupation(s).

(3) Notwithstanding 20 CFR 655.122(d), the OFLC Administrator shall establish a downward annual AEWR compensation adjustment for each State computed as an equivalent hourly rate based on the weighted statewide average of fair market rents for a four-bedroom housing unit available from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, provided that such adjustment shall not exceed 30 percent of the AEWRs determined under paragraphs (b)(1)(i) and (ii) of this section. The statewide annual hourly AEWR based on this compensation adjustment shall be determined separately and only apply to H-2A workers sponsored under the Application for Temporary Employment Certification.

(4) The OFLC Administrator will publish a notice in the Federal Register, at least once in each calendar year, on a date to be determined by the OFLC Administrator, establishing each AEWR and corresponding housing compensation adjustment under this section. The updated AEWR and corresponding housing compensation adjustment under this section will be effective as of the date of publication of the notice in the Federal Register.

(5) If an updated AEWR for the occupational classification and geographic area is published in the Federal Register during the work contract, and the updated AEWR is higher than the highest of the previous AEWR; a prevailing wage for the crop activity or agricultural activity and, if applicable, a distinct work task or tasks performed in that activity and geographic area; the agreed-upon collective bargaining wage; the Federal minimum wage; or the State minimum wage, the employer must pay at least the updated AEWR beginning on the date the updated AEWR is published in the Federal Register.

(6) If an updated AEWR for the occupational classification and geographic area is published in the Federal Register during the work contract, and the updated AEWR is lower than the rate guaranteed on the job order, the employer must continue to pay at least the rate guaranteed on the job order.

(7) The occupational classification and applicable AEWR shall be determined based on the majority (meaning more than 50 percent) of the workdays during the contract period the worker will spend performing the agricultural labor or services, including duties that are closely and directly related, and the qualifications on the job order.

(c) Prevailing wage determinations.

(1) The OFLC Administrator will issue a prevailing wage for a crop activity or agricultural activity and, if applicable, a distinct work task or tasks performed in that activity if all of the following requirements are met:

(i) The SWA submits to the Department a wage survey for the crop activity or agricultural activity and, if applicable, a distinct work task or tasks performed in that activity and a Form ETA-232 providing the methodology of the survey;

(ii) The survey was independently conducted by the State, including any State agency, State college, or State university;

(iii) The survey covers work performed in a single crop activity or agricultural activity and, if applicable, a distinct work task or tasks performed in that activity;

(iv) The surveyor either made a reasonable, good faith attempt to contact all employers employing workers in the crop activity or agricultural activity and distinct work task(s), if applicable, and geographic area surveyed or contacted a randomized sample of such employers, except where the estimated universe of employers is less than five. Where the estimated universe of employers is less than five, the surveyor contacted all employers in the estimated universe;

(v) The survey reports the average wage of U.S. workers in the crop activity or agricultural activity and distinct work task(s), if applicable, and geographic area using the unit of pay used to compensate the largest number of U.S. workers whose wages are reported in the survey;

(vi) The survey covers an appropriate geographic area based on available resources to conduct the survey, the size of the agricultural population covered by the survey, and any different wage structures in the crop activity or agricultural activity within the State;

(vii) Where the estimated universe of U.S. workers is at least 30, the survey includes the wages of at least 30 U.S. workers in the unit of pay used to compensate the largest number of U.S. workers whose wages are reported in the survey. Where the estimated universe of U.S. workers is less than 30, the survey includes the wages of all such U.S. workers;

(viii) Where the estimated universe of employers is at least five, the survey includes wages of U.S. workers employed by at least five employers in the unit of pay used to compensate the largest number of U.S. workers whose wages are reported in the survey. Where the estimated universe of employers is less than five, the survey includes wages of U.S. workers employed by all such employers; and

(ix) Where the estimated universe of employers is at least 4, the wages paid by a single employer represent no more than 25 percent of the sampled wages in the unit of pay used to compensate the largest number of U.S. workers whose wages are reported in the survey. This paragraph (c)(1)(ix) does not apply where the estimated universe of employers is less than four.

(2) A prevailing wage issued by the OFLC Administrator will remain valid for 1 year after the wage is posted on the OFLC website or until replaced with an adjusted prevailing wage, whichever comes first, except that if a prevailing wage that was guaranteed on the job order expires during the work contract, the employer must continue to guarantee at least the expired prevailing wage rate.

(3) If a prevailing wage for the geographic area and crop activity or agricultural activity and distinct work task(s), if applicable, is adjusted during a work contract, and is higher than the highest of the AEWR, a previous prevailing wage for the geographic area and crop activity or agricultural activity or, if applicable, a distinct work task or tasks performed in that activity, the agreed-upon collective bargaining wage, the Federal minimum wage, or the State minimum wage, the employer must pay at least that higher prevailing wage upon the Department's notice to the employer of the new prevailing wage.

(4) If a prevailing wage for the geographic area and crop activity or agricultural activity and distinct work task(s), if applicable, is adjusted during a work contract, and is lower than the rate guaranteed on the job order, the employer must continue to pay at least the rate guaranteed on the job order.

(d) Appeals. (1) If the employer does not include the appropriate offered wage rate on the Application for Temporary Employment Certification, the CO will issue a Notice of Deficiency (NOD) requiring the employer to correct the wage rate.

(2) If the employer disagrees with the wage rate required by the CO, the employer may appeal only after the Application for Temporary Employment Certification is denied, and the employer must follow the procedures in § 655.171.