The Fair Wages for Farmworkers Act directs the Department of Labor to use specific wage data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to set minimum pay rates for H-2A visa workers—foreign nationals brought to the U.S. temporarily for agricultural work. Currently, the government uses a different method to calculate these "adverse effect wage rates," and this bill would change that to use state-by-state occupational wage estimates, potentially increasing what farmers must pay these workers. The legislation also streamlines the visa application process by allowing the Department of Homeland Security to begin processing H-2A worker petitions while the Labor Department simultaneously reviews wage certification requirements, rather than waiting for Labor's approval first. This bill affects agricultural employers who rely on H-2A workers and the farmworkers themselves, who could see higher wages under the new calculation method. No specific funding amount is mentioned in the text, though implementation would require Labor and Homeland Security resources to administer the revised wage and petition processes.
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