FARMS Act

This bill grants the Secretary of Labor authority to maintain the current adverse effect wage rate (AEWR) for up to two years when there is no valid method available to calculate a new rate. The AEWR is the minimum wage that must be paid to H-2A temporary agricultural workers to ensure that hiring foreign workers does not adversely affect the wages of U.S. agricultural workers. By allowing the Secretary to retain the existing rate rather than being forced to use an invalid calculation method or leave the rate undefined, this bill provides stability and continuity in agricultural labor wage standards during periods when the normal calculation methodology is unavailable or unreliable.