H-2A Wages: Department of Labor 2025 Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) change
Reviewed for legal accuracy on 09/03/2026
Learn how wages on H-2A wage contracts have decreased in 2026 and why.
On October 2, 2025, the United States Department of Labor published an Interim Final Rule that made substantial changes to the H-2A Program’s Adverse Effect Wage Rate. It took effect on the day it was published, so workers are seeing changes in their wages during the 2026 growing and harvest season.
On August 26, 2026, a federal district judge ruled that the U.S. Department of Labor’s process to determine the new AEWRs must be redone. What does this mean for workers? For now, there are no changes to the wage rates for this growing season. The lawsuit is still proceeding, and we will update this page with any updates. More details are below.
Fast facts
The (Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) is the minimum hourly wage for H-2A worker contracts, set by the Department of Labor (DOL) for each state based on wage data each year. DOL changed how they set pay rates in October 2025, reducing the AEWR for Washington from $19.82 to a wage below the state minimum wage of $17.13.
This means that in 2026, H-2A workers must be paid at least the Washington state minimum wage of $17.13/hour.
Some jobs might be classified as Level 2 skilled jobs, which would pay a wage of at least $19.00/hour.
Based on the 2025 agricultural wage survey, two crops in Washington have prevailing wages this harvest season.
- Workers harvesting Gala apples must receive a piece rate of $30.05 per bin of apples.
- Workers harvesting pears must receive a wage of $30.06 per bin of pears.
If you have come to Washington to work under an H-2A contract in the past, you have probably seen that this year’s wages are lower this year. Unfortunately, your hours will likely not increase, so your overall take-home pay will likely be lower this year.
No. H-2A regulations require that employers provide free housing to H-2A workers. The new regulations do not change this. No employer can pay a worker under an H-2A contract less than the state minimum wage of $17.13/hour.
Some confusion about housing costs has emerged because the Department of Labor has authorized employers to adjust wages to account for the cost of housing. In some states, this could result in wages that are more than $2/hour less than the AEWR.
However, because the state minimum wage in Washington is higher than the AEWR, the housing adjustment will not affect Washington workers. The minimum hourly wage that H-2A workers in Washington can receive is the state minimum wage of $17.13/hour, and their wages cannot be further deducted for housing costs.
During the 2026 season, most employers have been paying $17.13/hour for H-2A jobs.
- Very few jobs categorized in the job order as skilled Level 2 are paying $19.00/hour.
- Workers picking gala apples should be paid $30.05 per bin.
- Workers picking pears should be paid $30.06 per bin.
- Workers in King County should earn a higher minimum wage: $20.82/hour.
- Workers in Bellingham should earn a higher minimum wage: $19.13/hour.
Employers can choose to offer a higher wage to local workers who are not working under an H-2A contract, but it’s possible that changes in regulations will continue to result in an industry-wide decrease in wages for all workers.
In November 2025, the United Farm Workers (UFW) and a group of individual farmworkers filed a lawsuit against the United States Department of Labor to challenge the changes to the methodology used to calculate the AEWR for each state. And on August 26, 2026, a federal district judge ruled that the process to determine the AEWRs must be redone.
For now, there are no changes to the wage rates. The court did not vacate the rule or eliminate the current AEWR wage rates. Moving forward, the Department of Labor must promptly develop and publish a new AEWR methodology and wage rate.
And the court left open the possibility that employers could be required to give workers wage adjustment payments (for any difference in wage rates between September 2, 2026 and the date the new wage rate is published) if the new wage rates are higher than the current ones.
But at this time, no back pay or wage adjustments have been ordered by any court.
We will update this page with any changes as the lawsuit and the DOL rule-making process continue to develop.
More detailed information can be found in this press release, in English, and in Spanish.
Northwest Justice Project's Farmworker Unit, La Unidad Campesina de NJP, with offices in Yakima and Wenatchee, provides advocacy and individual legal representation to farmworkers and their families to ensure that they are afforded a full range of legal protections.
Yakima Office
311 N. 4th St., Suite 201
Yakima, WA 98901
509-225-0026
Wenatchee Office
300 Okanogan Ave. Suite 3A
Wenatchee, WA 98801
509-664-5101
Learn more about Northwest Justice Project's Farmworker Unit, La Unidad Campesina de NJP.