New H-2A Farm Wage Rates Take Effect August 3, 2026

The Department of Labor published updated Adverse Effect Wage Rates for H-2A farmworkers on August 3, 2026, and the new rates take effect the same day they hit the Federal Register. The notice, issued by the Employment and Training Administration at 91 FR 48946, also resets the national average AEWR used to size surety bonds for H-2A Labor Contractors to $15.96 per hour, down from the $17.74 in place since January 1, 2025. That is a cut of $1.78 an hour, roughly 10 percent, in one update.

The AEWR is not a suggestion. It is the floor an H-2A employer must offer in the job order, advertise during domestic recruitment, and actually pay to both H-2A workers and any U.S. workers in corresponding employment. Under 20 CFR 655.120 and 655.122(l), employers in non-range occupations must pay at least the highest of the AEWR, the applicable prevailing wage, the collective bargaining rate, the federal minimum wage, or the state minimum wage.

There are two effective dates, not one. The rates apply nationally on August 3, 2026. For employers and states covered by the court order in Kansas et al. v. U.S. Department of Labor, 749 F. Supp. 3d 1363 (S.D. Ga. 2024), the same rates instead take effect on August 17, 2026. That two week gap has become a standing feature of AEWR notices since the Southern District of Georgia enjoined the 2024 Farmworker Protection Rule in 17 plaintiff states.

Those 17 states are Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Several are among the heaviest users of the H-2A program, so the later date covers a large share of certified positions.

The notice itself prints no state table. DOL directs employers to a searchable spreadsheet at flag.dol.gov/wage-data/adverse-effect-wage-rates, where rates can be looked up by state or territory and by Standard Occupational Classification code. Brian Pasternak, Administrator of the Office of Foreign Labor Certification, is listed as the contact. Marek Laco, Acting Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, signed the three-page notice.

The numbers come from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, not the Department of Agriculture Farm Labor Survey that set AEWRs for decades. DOL made that switch in an interim final rule published October 2, 2025 at 90 FR 47914. This August notice is the first full annual refresh under that methodology, and it uses the OEWS release of May 15, 2026, which carries May 2025 wage estimates.

Two Skill Levels, One Housing Deduction

The OEWS methodology splits every state into two rates instead of one. A Skill Level I AEWR applies to entry-level job opportunities where workers need no formal education or specialized training credentials. A Skill Level II AEWR applies where the employer requires qualifications typical of experienced or fully proficient workers. DOL computes Skill Level I at the equivalent of the 17th percentile of the occupational wage distribution, the same convention used for skill-based prevailing wages in other visa programs.

Most H-2A jobs still fall inside the field and livestock workers (combined) category, which aggregates five SOC codes: 45-2041, 45-2091, 45-2092, 45-2093 and 53-7064. Where OEWS reports no statewide figure at a given skill level, the national average for that level applies instead.

The notice also updates the statewide downward compensation adjustments allowed under 20 CFR 655.120(b)(3). Those deductions apply only to H-2A workers who receive housing at no cost, and they can shave another dollar or more off the hourly rate. In California the adjustment has run as much as $3.00 an hour, in Hawaii $3.18, and in Alabama $1.20.

How Far Rates Fell When DOL Switched Surveys

The August 3 update sits on top of a much larger repricing that already happened. When the OEWS methodology replaced the Farm Labor Survey in October 2025, published entry-level rates dropped by double digits in nearly every major H-2A state. The table below compares the last Farm Labor Survey AEWRs, which governed through October 1, 2025, against the OEWS skill-level rates that the August notice now refreshes.

Louisiana and Mississippi took the steepest entry-level cuts, each more than 34 percent. Skill Level II rates held up far better, landing within a dollar of the old FLS number in Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and Louisiana.

The Mid-Contract Rule Employers Keep Getting Wrong

An updated AEWR does not automatically let an employer cut pay mid-season. The regulation runs one direction only. Under 20 CFR 655.120(b)(5), if the new AEWR is higher than the rate an employer has been paying, the employer must move to the higher rate on the effective date. Under 20 CFR 655.120(b)(6), if the new AEWR comes in lower than the wage guaranteed on the job order, the employer must keep paying the guaranteed job order wage for the rest of the contract.

For a grower running a summer contract signed at the previous rate, the August reduction generally does not bite until the next job order. Employers filing new Forms ETA-790 and 790A after the effective date get the new numbers.

Labor contractors have a separate item to check. The average AEWR of $15.96 feeds directly into the surety bond calculation at 20 CFR 655.132(c)(2)(ii), so bond amounts tied to the old $17.74 figure need recalculating before the next filing.

What a Lower Floor Means for Workers

The AEWR protects U.S. workers, not just visa holders. Because employers must pay the same rate to anyone in corresponding employment, a lower AEWR pulls down the floor for domestic farmworkers on the same crew. That is the mechanism behind the multi-billion dollar estimates on both sides of this fight.

State minimum wage law still backstops the floor in higher-wage states. A California entry-level AEWR of $16.45 sits above the state minimum, so the AEWR governs. In Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, which have no state minimum wage, the entry-level AEWRs of $11.25, $9.59 and $9.74 are the only meaningful floor above the $7.25 federal minimum. Those three states also posted the largest percentage cuts in the table above.

Growers and Farmworker Advocates Are Not Close

Grower groups wanted out of the Farm Labor Survey for years, arguing it produced double-digit annual swings they could not budget around. The Georgia Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association has said the OEWS is not perfect, since it captures AEWR-paid wages itself, but that its three-year rolling sample should dampen the yearly shocks. DOL estimated in its rule that the change delivers about $2.46 billion a year in benefits to producers.

Worker advocates read the same estimate as a wage transfer. The Economic Policy Institute calculated that farmworkers stand to lose between $4.4 billion and $5.4 billion a year under the new AEWR. The United Farm Workers and the UFW Foundation argued in comments that OEWS surveys non-farm establishments such as labor contractors and packing warehouses, which makes it a poor instrument for measuring whether foreign hiring is depressing farm wages. UFW President Teresa Romero called the change “a catastrophe for American workers in agriculture.”

The wage fight runs alongside a broader rollback of H-2A worker protections. The Labor Department moved in 2025 to rescind the 2024 rule that gave H-2A workers collective action protections, the same rule the Kansas plaintiffs had already blocked in 17 states.

What to Do Before the Effective Date

Employers should work through a short checklist rather than waiting for their agent to flag it:

• Pull the state and SOC code rate from the DOL spreadsheet at flag.dol.gov, not from last season’s paperwork.
• Confirm which effective date applies, August 3 or August 17, based on the state and whether the entity is covered by the Kansas order.
• Decide honestly whether the job requires Skill Level I or Skill Level II qualifications, because the job order description drives the rate.
• Compare the AEWR against the state minimum wage and any prevailing wage determination, and pay the highest.
• Recalculate H-2A Labor Contractor surety bonds against the $15.96 average AEWR.

Workers should check the rate written into the job order against the published figure for their state and SOC code, and confirm whether a housing-related downward adjustment was applied. That adjustment is lawful only when the employer provides housing at no cost. DOL must publish these rates at least once each calendar year under 20 CFR 655.120(b)(4), so the next reset arrives in 2027.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do the new H-2A adverse effect wage rates take effect?

The updated AEWRs take effect August 3, 2026, the day the Labor Department notice published at 91 FR 48946. For employers and states subject to the court order in Kansas et al. v. U.S. Department of Labor, the same rates instead take effect August 17, 2026.

Which states get the later August 17 effective date?

The 17 plaintiff states in the Kansas case are Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Certain covered entities also fall under the later date regardless of location.

What is the new average AEWR used for H-2A surety bonds?

The average AEWR under 20 CFR 655.103(b) is now $15.96 per hour, down from $17.74. That figure drives the surety bond calculation for H-2A Labor Contractors at 20 CFR 655.132(c)(2)(ii), so bonds computed on the old number need to be recalculated.

Can an employer cut wages mid-contract when the AEWR drops?

No. Under 20 CFR 655.120(b)(6), if the updated AEWR is lower than the wage guaranteed on the job order, the employer must continue paying the guaranteed job order rate. Pay only rises mid-contract, under 20 CFR 655.120(b)(5), when the new AEWR is higher.

What is the difference between Skill Level I and Skill Level II AEWRs?

Skill Level I covers entry-level jobs requiring no formal education or specialized training credentials, and DOL computes it at the equivalent of the 17th percentile of the wage distribution. Skill Level II covers jobs requiring experienced or fully proficient workers. The job order description determines which applies.

Where can employers look up the AEWR for their state and job?

DOL publishes a searchable spreadsheet at flag.dol.gov/wage-data/adverse-effect-wage-rates, sortable by state or territory and by Standard Occupational Classification code. The August 3, 2026 notice itself prints no state table and points employers to that page instead.

Why did AEWRs fall so much compared with earlier years?

DOL replaced the USDA Farm Labor Survey with the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey in an interim final rule at 90 FR 47914 on October 2, 2025. Entry-level rates fell 35.3 percent in Louisiana, from $14.83 to $9.59, and 30 percent in Alabama.

Does the AEWR apply to U.S. workers as well as H-2A visa holders?

Yes. Employers must offer, advertise, and pay the AEWR to H-2A workers and to any U.S. workers in corresponding employment. That is why the Economic Policy Institute estimates farmworkers overall stand to lose $4.4 billion to $5.4 billion a year under the new methodology.