2025 AEWR Update for OEWS Wages from the Department of Labor (DOL)

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced on July 10, 2025 that the Agency will publish the new OEWS Adverse Effect Wage Rates (“AEWR”) in tomorrow’s Federal Register, which will go into effect for employers on either 07/11/2025 or 07/25/2025, depending on the state of employment. The new wages reflect the May 2024 OEWS survey wages for all job orders assigned SOC codes outside of the six traditional SOC codes comprising the field and livestock worker (combined) group. Common SOC codes applied to H-2A job orders outside of the traditional “big six” agricultural SOC codes, include, but are not limited to:

• 47-2061 Construction Laborers

• 47-4031 Fence Erectors

• 53-3032 Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Drivers

• 53-3033 Light Truck Drivers

• 53-3053 Shuttle Driving and Chauffeurs

• 53-3052 Bus Drivers

• 45-1011 First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers

• 49-3041 Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians

• 49-3031 Bus and Truck Mechanics and Diesel Engine Specialists

• 37-3012 Pesticide Handlers, Sprayers, and Applicators, Vegetation

IMPORTANT: If your job order was assigned a non-FLS SOC code, you must begin paying the new wage rate on either July 11, 2025, or July 25, 2025, if in one of the 17 states covered by the injunction in Kansas et al. v. Dep’t of Labor.
If your job order is assigned one of those outside of the “Big Six,” and not represented in the list above, you can find the new OEWS AEWR for each SOC code by navigating to your state and filtering for the hourly mean wage for the state of employment and applicable SOC code here: https://data.bls.gov/oes/#/home.

After 07/11/2024, employers must ensure they are paying the May 2024 OEWS survey wage instead of the expiring May 2023 wages.

As a reminder, the “Big Six” SOC codes are: 45-2041: Graders and Sorters; 45-2091: Agricultural Equip. Operators; 45-2092: Farmworkers and Laborers; 45-2093: Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals; 45-2099: All Other Agricultural Workers; and 53-7064: Packers and Packagers, and job orders assigned to these SOC codes remain subject to the FLS-based AEWR for each state, which will not update until the end of 2025 here. WAGES WILL NOT CHANGE FOR THESE SOC CODES AT THIS TIME.

The employer must pay the highest applicable wage, whether the FLS-AEWR, the OEWS AEWR, a prevailing wage rate (if published in Agricultural Online Wage Library), or the agreed-upon collective bargaining rate. If the applicable wage decreases during the period of labor certification, the employer must continue paying the original higher wage. However, if such wages increase during the contract, the employer must immediately pay the higher wage upon publication in the Federal Register. 

Employers in the 33 states not covered by the Kansas injunction should immediately take steps to implement the new OEWS AEWR’s as close to the effective date of 07/11/2025 as possible. Employers in the 17 states of Georgia, Kansas, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia, should ensure that all wage updates have been made prior to 07/25/2025.

Effective 7/11/2025, the AEWRs will govern current and future Big Six SOC code job opportunities in the following states/territories which are not covered by the Farm Labor Survey.

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1 The injunction from the Southern District of Georgia blocked the enforcement of the Farmworker Protection Rule - including the provision making AEWR adjustments effective immediately instead of allowing a two-week grace period - in the 17 states of Georgia, Kansas, South Carolina, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Employers in these 17 states do not need to implement the new OEWS AEWR’s until 07/25/2025. All other employers must implement the new wages immediately upon publication in the Federal Register - 07/11/2025.