DOL Further Extends Delay of Final Rule Altering Prevailing Wage Levels

On May 13, 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) will issue a final rule delaying the effective date of the January 2021 final rule entitled “Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States” (Prevailing Wage Rule) from May 14, 2021, to November 14, 2022. The final rule also delays the transition date of July 1, 2021, when the actual new wage levels would begin, to January 1, 2023.

This is the second delay of the Prevailing Wage Rule after an initial 60-day delay (from March 15, 2021, to May 14, 2021) of the effective date made it clear that DOL needed additional time to “thoroughly consider the legal and policy issues raised in the rule, and offer the public, through the issuance of a Request for Information, an opportunity to provide information on the sources and methods for determining prevailing wage levels covering employment opportunities that United States (U.S.) employers seek to fill with foreign workers on a permanent or temporary basis through certain employment-based immigrant visas or through H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 nonimmigrant visas.”

DOL issued the Request for Information on April 2, 2021, and will be accepting comments from interested parties through June 1, 2021.