On August 3, the U.S. Department of Labor USDOL published revised H-2A program Adverse Effect Wage Rates for 2026 and 2027. These AEWRs are effective immediately, except for 17 states subject to a 2024 court order ordering the Department to allow those growers an additional two weeks’ implementation time.

Under H-2A program rules published by DOL as an interim final rule in the fall of 2025, rates are calculated based on Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational and Employment Wage estimates. As a result of the shift to OEWS from surveys formerly conducted by the Department of Agriculture, H-2A program AEWRs have generally been lower across-the-board than the case prior to the 2025 regulation.

The rule also allows H-2A program employers to pay a lower rate to H-2A employees who are furnished free housing (as most non-U.S.-resident H-2A employees are) while U.S. workers working alongside non-resident H-2A employees are required to be paid the higher of the full AEWR or the applicable statutory minimum wage. This differential is referred to by DOL as the Adverse Compensation Adjustment (ACA), and is meant to ensure that the value of housing provided to non-resident H-2A workers does not distort compensation estimates used to set AEWRs. Given the price of housing in California, it is unsurprising that our state has the highest ACA in the U.S., $3.07.

The 2025 rule also established an experience-based two-tier wage system; lower-tier wages may be paid to employees with 0 to 2 months of experience or employees performing jobs that are generally rote in nature or require close supervision.

The 2026-27 AEWR for California H-2A program employers will be:

• U.S. workers, Skill Level 1: $16.59 ($16.90 under California’s current minimum wage, $17.40 after Jan. 1)
• U.S. workers, Skill Level 2: $18.60
• H-2A workers, Skill Level 1 (with Adverse Compensation Adjustment): $13.52 ($16.90 under California’s current minimum wage, or $17.40 after Jan. 1)
• H-2A workers, Skill Level 2 (with Adverse Compensation Adjustment): $15.53 ($16.90 under California’s current minimum wage, or $17.40 after Jan. 1)