The Dept. of Labor has proposed a new rule to pay higher wages to foreign workers to bring them in line with U.S.-born workers, which if enacted would alter the wage structures for the permanent (PERM) labor certification H-1B, H-1B1, and E-3 visa programs.

That last visa program, the E-3, is significant to skilled nursing providers, said Dana Ritchie, associate vice president of constituency services and workforce, American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living (AHCA/NCAL).

“It is important to note that the PERM process is a required step for most employers seeking to sponsor a worker for an EB3 green card, which long term care centers utilize for hiring nurses,” she said in an April 14 blog post.

The agency said the proposed changes are an effort to modernize the programs and protect the wages and job opportunities of American workers by stripping away the ability of employers “to pay substandard wages” to foreign workers in certain visa programs.

“This much-needed change aims to curb abuse of certain visa programs by reducing the incentive to displace American workers with low-wage foreign visa holders and establishing parity between the wages paid to U.S. workers and foreign workers entering the country on certain employment-based visas,” the agency said in a press release.

Ritchie said the new wage structure, if enacted, incorporates changes to the computation of wage levels under the department's four-tiered prevailing wage structure, based on the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics wage survey administered by the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The new percentiles would significantly change the wages levels. For example, the current Level 1 is based upon the 17th percentile, and the proposed rule seeks to change it to the 34th percentile, which is where Level 2 wage currently is. This would push all wage levels up,” Ritchie said.

The Labor Dept. does not propose to apply the new regulations to any previously approved prevailing wage determinations, permanent labor certification applications, or Labor Condition Applications, either through reopening or through issuing supplemental prevailing wage determinations or through notices of suspension, invalidation, or revocation, she added.

Comments or questions? Contact Patrick Connole at pconnole@parkplacelive.com.