A federal district court in California on Aug. 26 ruled that the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) 2025 rule that lowered adverse effect wage rates (AEWRs) in the H-2A agricultural guest worker visa program violated federal law.
According to United Farm Workers (UFW), the DOL rule in 2025 cut many farm workers’ wages by up to $7 per hour, depending on the state. UFW stated that the DOL estimated that the rule would annually transfer $2.46 billion in wages from workers to employers.
The DOL’s interim final rule (IFR) in October 2025 addressed agricultural industry concerns with the AEWR methodology. The rule was issued on an emergency basis after a federal court vacated the 2023 AEWR rule and the DOL discontinued the Farm Labor Survey.
The Aug. 26 decision is the culmination of a federal lawsuit filed last year against the DOL rule by 18 individual farm workers, UFW and the UFW Foundation. Five former secretaries of labor, 13 state attorneys general, Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, and Rep. Zoe Lofgren filed supporting briefs.
According to the Florida Fruit & Vegetable Association, the decision orders DOL to develop a new wage methodology while leaving the current rule temporarily in place. There are no changes to H-2A wages at this time.
However, UFW added that the decision orders DOL to inform employers that they may be responsible for backpay for workers from the date of the decision until a revised wage rate has been set.
See the full UFW statement about the decision here.
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