A joint resolution providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Labor relating to the Adverse Effect Wage Rate Methodology.

Plain-English Summary

This bill is a Congressional disapproval resolution, which is a tool Congress can use to cancel a regulation that a federal agency has recently put in place. Specifically, this resolution targets a rule created by the Department of Labor that deals with how "Adverse Effect Wage Rates" are calculated. These wage rates are the minimum hourly wages that employers must pay to foreign workers they bring in on certain temporary agricultural visas (known as H-2A visas), a program designed to help farms and agricultural businesses fill labor shortages when they cannot find enough American workers.

The Department of Labor's rule in question changed the method used to determine what those minimum wages should be. The goal of such wage standards is to ensure that hiring foreign workers does not unfairly lower wages or take job opportunities away from American workers doing similar jobs. By disapproving this rule, Congress would essentially cancel the Department of Labor's new wage calculation method and prevent it from taking effect or remaining in force.

This resolution would primarily affect agricultural employers who use the H-2A visa program to hire temporary foreign workers, as well as the American and foreign workers employed in those roles. If the disapproval passes, the wage calculation method established under the new rule would be voided, potentially changing what employers are required to pay workers under the program. The bill was introduced in the Senate and has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary for further consideration.