Articles
Immigration Alert: DOL Announces Steps in Complying with Court Order for Prevailing Wages
on December 4, 2020December 4, 2020
As reported earlier this week, a U.S. District Court Judge has set aside a new set of Department of Labor (DOL) regulations, which had already taken immediate effect on October 8, 2020. Specifically, the court has halted the implementation of a new DOL methodology, to significantly increase the wage levels for certain foreign-national employees. The new, much higher prevailing wage levels were applicable to the H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 and PERM Alien Labor Certification programs.
Today the DOL announced that it is taking steps to comply with the court order, by making the necessary technical changes to its online ‘FLAG’ portal. The DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification has released the following implementation timeframes, to make changes to its FLAG Labor Condition Application (LCA) module, and its Prevailing Wage Determination module:
As reported earlier this week, a U.S. District Court Judge has set aside a new set of Department of Labor (DOL) regulations, which had already taken immediate effect on October 8, 2020. Specifically, the court has halted the implementation of a new DOL methodology, to significantly increase the wage levels for certain foreign-national employees. The new, much higher prevailing wage levels were applicable to the H-1B, H-1B1, E-3 and PERM Alien Labor Certification programs.
Today the DOL announced that it is taking steps to comply with the court order, by making the necessary technical changes to its online ‘FLAG’ portal. The DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification has released the following implementation timeframes, to make changes to its FLAG Labor Condition Application (LCA) module, and its Prevailing Wage Determination module:
- Implementation Timeframe for Filing LCAs: Beginning around 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on December 9, 2020, employers and their authorized attorneys or agents will be able to submit new LCAs, using the prior wage data that was in effect prior to October 7, 2020. The new, higher prevailing wage data will no longer be auto-populated. This effective date will be applicable to LCAs used in H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 nonimmigrant petitions.
- Implementation Timeframe for Processing Prevailing Wage Determinations: Beginning around 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on December 15, 2020, the DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification will resume processing all pending Prevailing Wage Requests, using the prior wage data that was in effect prior to October 7, 2020. The new, higher prevailing wage data will no longer be used in issuing Prevailing Wage Determinations. This effective date will be applicable to Prevailing Wage Determinations, issued in connection with PERM Alien Labor Certification Applications.