In a positive development for H-1B employees, the new rule about higher wages for H-1B workers has reportedly been delayed till November 2022.
Department of Labor To Postpone Rule For Higher Salary For H-1B Employees
The United States will be delaying the implementation of the rule which directed higher wages to be paid to H-1B workers. The date has now been postponed to November 22, as notified by the US Department of Labor. The final wage rule will be published in the Federal Register on Thursday (May 13).
As per the notice by the US Department of Labor, this additional delay has been implemented to “provide a sufficient amount of time to thoroughly consider the legal and policy issues raised in the rule.” This will also result in a delay of the effective date of the rule by 18 months, from May 14, 2021 to November 14, 2022.
As per the notice, this delay will also offer the public an opportunity to give information about the sources and methods that are used for determining the current wage levels that cover the employment opportunities that US employers are looking for in order to fill with foreign workers through employment-based immigrant visas or through H–1B, H–1B1, or E–3 non-immigrant visas.
As per the report, the DoL had also welcomed written comments on the proposed rule and 627 comments were received too.
How Will This Rule Affect H-1B Employees?
As we all know, the rule, “Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Immigrants and Non-Immigrants in the United States,” states that the wages of H-1B and other skilled immigrant workforce such as H-1B1, E-3 and green card applicants should be increased.
If this rule is imposed, the H-1B workers at the lowest wage level will have to receive a minimum of the 35th percentile of the prevailing wage for their job type and location. Previously, this number was 45th percentile in the initial version. Additionally, the workers who are at the highest wage level will receive the 90th percentile as compared to the 95th percentile in the initial version.
This March, the Biden led US government had proposed a delay of 18 month delay in the effective date of the rule on calculating the prevailing wages of certain immigrant workers and non-immigrant workers. These include the ones that are working on H-1B visas.
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