The Department of Labor (DOL) Employment and Training Administration (ETA) Nov. 29 announced it has postponed the effective date for its revised H-2B wage calculation methodology from Nov. 30, 2011 to Jan. 1, 2012.

The final rule, issued in January 2011, replaces the current methodology for establishing wage rates for H-2B temporary workers with a system emphasizing Davis-Bacon Act wage determinations.  

Under the rule, employers are required to pay the highest of the following:

• wages established under a collective bargaining agreement;
• wages established under the Davis-Bacon Act or Service Contract Act for the appropriate occupation in the area of employment; or
• the mean wage rate established by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

ABC has opposed the proposed rule due to its substantial cost, as well as the unscientific methodology used by DOL’s Wage and Hour division to establish Davis-Bacon Act rates that often inflate local wages.