On August 25, 2025, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana issued an order vacating the Department of Labor’s 2023 Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) Methodology Final Rule, finding it “arbitrary and capricious” under the Administrative Procedure Act. The ruling converts an earlier preliminary injunction into a permanent injunction, providing immediate relief to agricultural employers. 

Following the Court’s decision, the Department of Labor’s Office of Foreign Labor Certification (OFLC) issued an update on August 28, 2025, confirming that AEWR rates will now be set according to the methodology in place under the 2010 rule, Temporary Agricultural Employment of H-2A Aliens in the United States. OFLC stated that it is taking steps to implement the vacatur and will issue further announcements and Federal Register notices as needed to ensure compliance with the court order. 

The practical effect of the ruling is that employers may again classify job duties outside the “Big Six” occupational categories without automatically being assigned much higher wages that, in some cases, were more than double the state AEWR. While this decision restores the prior framework and offers greater predictability going forward, it does not reduce wage obligations already certified under the higher rates. Employers remain bound to pay those wages for the duration of existing certifications, but new applications will be processed under the 2010 rule until DOL proposes a replacement methodology. 

Western Growers President and CEO Dave Puglia welcomed the outcome, stating: 

“This ruling brings much-needed stability for growers across the country who have been whipsawed by unsustainable wage increases under the 2023 AEWR rule. We commend Secretary Chavez-DeRemer and the Trump Administration for their leadership in recognizing the burden this rule imposed on agriculture. Western Growers will continue to press for further reforms to the H-2A program, including revisiting how wages are determined for the “Big Six” agricultural occupations.”  

With the 2023 rule now vacated, attention will turn to how DOL addresses the broader wage-setting process in future rulemaking. For now, agricultural employers have a clearer, more stable path as they plan for the upcoming season. 

For questions about the policy change or the H-2A program in general, contact the Western Growers H-2A Services team.