Prevailing Wage Information and Request Form
Under the new PERM regulation effective March 28, 2005, the employer must obtain a prevailing wage determination from the State Workforce Agency (SWA) prior to filing an application for a Labor Certification with the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL). The major changes affecting prevailing wage determinations are that the employer must now pay 100 percent of the assigned wage and that the OES/SOC Wage Source managed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics has four (4) wage levels.
The relevant factors in determining a prevailing wage rate are the nature of the job offer, the area of intended employment, and the job duties for workers who are similarly employed. The employer may refer to the USDOL website which provides policy guidance to the state workforce agencies when determining which of the four wage levels to assign.
Should the employer's wage offer not meet the assigned OES/SOC prevailing wage, the employer has the following options:
- Raise its wage to meet the prevailing wage;
- Request the SWA to review the issued determination, providing information to explain why it disagrees with the assigned wage level;
- Challenge the prevailing wage determination by a written request to the SWA within 30 days of the date of issue for review of the determination by the Regional Certifying Officer;
- Submit a new prevailing wage request using a published public or private survey or an employer-conducted survey as long as the survey complies with acceptable USDOL standards (Appendix F).
It is important to note that a prevailing wage determination based upon the acceptance of employer-provided wage data for the specific job opportunity at issue does not supersede the OES wage rate for subsequent requests for prevailing wage data in that occupation.
The employer must retain a copy of the prevailing wage determination for a period of five years from date of filing the application under PERM.
Prevailing Wage Request form - This form can be filled out online and saved. It must be printed and faxed to the Foreign Labor Certification Unit at 651.297.7722.
Email questions or comments to deed.foreignlabor@state.mn.us.