H-2B wage increase set for Sept. 30

The Department of Labor has announced that the effective date of the H-2B wage methodology rule is Sept. 30. Originally, the effective date was set for Jan. 1, 2012.

The final rule will increase H-2B hourly wages for landscaping services by about $3.60 per hour. Read the notice published in the Federal Register here.

Associations like PLANET and ANLA are trying to block the rule, saying the actual cost to H-2B users could be far greater than the DOL estimates because it did not account for labor increases for similarly employed American workers or more experienced American workers whose pay should be proportional to the hourly wage earned by lesser skilled workers.

The H-2B Workforce Coalition estimates that the rule will result in annual increases of about $100,000-$4,000 on individual seasonal businesses that use the H-2B program.

After the Federal Register announcement, PLANET made another call for members to contact their senators and representatives to ask them to sign a bipartisan letter to block the ruling. The letter is being circulated by Rep. Robert Wittman (R-Va.)