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Original Date Announced
October 2, 2025DOL issued an interim final rule revising the methodology for determining the Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) for H-2A workers in non-range agricultural occupations. Under the Interim Final Rule (IFR), the adverse effect wage rate methodology will now rely on Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, replacing the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Farm Labor Survey. DOL observes that under the rule, "certain current H-2A workers may experience reductions in wages as a result of lower prevailing wage rates." In addition, the rule will allow employers to deduct the cost of housing from workers' wages.
Trump 2.0 [ID #2009]
2025.10.02 DOL IFR AEWR Methodology for the Temporary Employment of H–2A Nonimmigrants in Non-Range OccupationsEffective Date
October 2, 2025Subsequent Trump and Court Action
November 21, 20252025.11.21 - Complaint - UFW v. DOL
United Farm Workers (UFW) filed a Complaint in federal court alleging that the October 2025 interim final rule revising the Adverse Effect Wage Rate ("AEWR") regulations for H-2A foreign agricultural workers violates the Administrative Procedure Act as contrary to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) mandate that the hiring of H-2A workers "will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of workers in the United States similarly employed," because it is arbitrary and capricious, and because the Department of Labor violated notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements. Individual plaintiffs include farmworkers who are U.S. citizens, on H-2A visas, and who have unspecified immigration statuses. The Complaint includes data predicting precipitous drops in wages under the IFR. The lawsuit seeks declaratory and injunctive relief and asks the court to order the government to set aside the interim final rule in its entirety. United Farm Workers v. United States Department of Labor, 1:25-cv-01614 (E.D. Cal.)
**Link to case here. Our litigation entries generally report only the initial complaint and any major substantive filings or decisions. For additional information, CourtListener provides access to PACER and all available pleadings. Other sites that track litigation in more detail or organize cases by topic include Civil Rights Clearinghouse, Justice Action Center, National Immigration Litigation Alliance, and Just Security**
View DocumentCurrent Status
NoneOriginal Trump Policy Status
Status: Final/Actual In LitigationTrump Administration Action: RuleSubject Matter: LaborAgencies Affected: DOLAssociated or Derivative Policies
Documents
Trump-Era Policy Documents
- New Policy
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Subsequent Action
Original Source:
2025.11.21 Complaint - UFW v. DOL
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Commentary
2025.10.08 Reported: Trump Labor Department Says His Immigration Raids Are Causing a Food Crisis - The American Prospect
The American Prospect reports that in the DOL's new H-2A rule, the Trump Administration acknolwedges that its immigration crackdown is having a negative impact on farmers and food prices. DOL writes in the IFR that "[t]he near total cessation of the inflow of illegal aliens combined with the lack of an available legal workforce, results in significant disruptions to production costs and threatening the stability of domestic food production and prices for U.S. consumers." Further, it claimed that "[w]ithout swift action, agricultural employers will be unable to maintain operations, and the nation's food supply will be at risk."
Antonio De Loera-Brust of the United Farm Workers referred to the IFR as promoting a "Deport and Replace" strategy that "make[s] it easier for corporate agribusiness to exploit its workers, whether terrified undocumented residents or an unlimited pool of cheap foreign guest workers."
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