Ohio Labor Certification Prevailing Wage Level Improperly Doubled, Court Rules
Any Ohio labor certification attorney will tell you that prevailing wage determinations in Ohio have been consistently higher than other states for years. In a recent decision The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) in the matter of Reed Elsevier, Inc., 2008-PER-00201 agrees. The prevailing wage is the wage determined by the state agency to be paid to a foreign national if they are to obtain an employment based green card through labor certification. In reversing The Certifying Officer affirmation of a prevailing wage determination, the court stated that Ohio “drastically changes the character of the position, essentially increasing the yearly wage by over 25% and doubling the wage level at which the position would otherwise be classified.”
The court affirmed that Ohio has improperly upgraded the wage requirement to the highest possible level (level IV) by incorrectly combining experience and education in its analysis. In the case decided, , a level IV wage was assigned to an Engineering position because the employer required a Masters Degree plus one year of experience. BALCA’s ruling states that the proper wage level for this type of position with the aforementioned requirements should have been equivalent to a level II wage.
To put into perspective the wage hike Ohio employers have been subjected to, until this ruling, Ohio employers were required to pay a 25% higher rate than the prevailing wage requirements if they wish to offer a foreign national a permanent job offer. This requirement has a cumulative draining effect on Ohio employer’s financially. For professional positions, this 25% hike usually translates to approximately $20,000 of yearly salary increase. It is not unusual in high tech or engineering dependent companies to file 10 or more of these applications. The practical effect is hundreds of thousands of dollars of unfair burden on such employers.
With this decision we hope to begin to see more reasonable prevailing wage determination coming out of the state of Ohio.
