New Adverse Effect Wage Rates take effect The U.S. Department of Labor has announced new Adverse Effect Wage Rates in August. The AEWR, state-by-state wage floors that growers who hire H-2A workers must pay, inched up in most cases for growers in states with heavy tree fruit production. For example, Washington’s hourly Skill Level I rate went up from $16.53 to $16.93.  There were two exceptions: The Skill Level II hourly rate went down from $18.71 to $18.60 for workers in California and from $15.25 to $15.13 in Oregon. However, current H-2A rules do not allow employers to reduce wages […]