DOL reverts to lower wage requirements after courts block H-1B rule changes

Courts again recently thwarted the Trump administration's efforts to change the H-1B rules and increase the wages U.S. employers are required to pay to foreign workers. On December 1 and 3, 2020, a federal court order in California and a preliminary injunction in New Jersey stalled abrupt rule changes that would have dramatically altered the H-1B program and imposed sharp wage hikes on employers hiring foreign workers.

Previous, lower wages reinstated

Effective December 4, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reinstated the previous, lower wages, available on the government website. Any employer that received a DOL prevailing wage determination (PWD) or labor condition application (LCA) at the increased wage rates may request a redetermination or refile.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other entities sued in California under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) to strike down both rules. A technology consortium, IT Serve Alliance, was the key plaintiff in New Jersey to strike down the DOL rule.

Both courts decided there was no good cause to justify the rule changes. The court in the Chamber of Commerce case found no basis to "dispense with the rational and thoughtful discourse that is provided by the APA's notice and comment requirements." An appeal is unlikely.

DOL wage requirements for foreign workers