Form ETA-232 Domestic Agricultural In- Season Wage Report

OMB Approval: 1205-0017 Expiration Date: 09/30/2016 Domestic Agricultural In- Season Wage Report Form ETA-Form ETA-232 U.S. Department of Labor

Name of the Wage Reporting Area:

State:

Survey Number:

If this is resubmission, insert X in the block

Crop/Agricultural Commodity:

Occupation/Activity:

Survey Period Begin:

Survey Period End:

Date of Finding:

1. Estimated Number of Employers and U.S Workers engaged in Crop/Agricultural Commodity and Occupation/Activity in the Wage Reporting Area

Estimated number of employers ………………………………………..
Estimated number of U.S. workers ……………………………………
Provide the name of the source(s) used for estimation of number of employers and U.S. workers

2. Number of Employers Contacted (Sample Size)

1. Total number of employers contacted during the survey………….……..

2. Total number of respondents……………………………………………..

3. Total number of employer-respondents who employ U.S. workers…….

4. Total number of U.S. workers reported by the employers …………..….

Identify method(s) of contact

3. Reported Wage Rates for U.S. Workers

Provide all wage rates, applicable unit of payment (e.g., per hour) and the number of U.S. workers receiving each wage as reported by the surveyed employers

Wage Rate(s) ($)	Unit (e.g. per hour)	Number of U.S. Workers
A	B	C
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$

4. Calculated Prevailing Wage Rate Finding(s)

Based on the reported wages in Item 3. provide the prevailing wage rate(s) and unit(s) for the crop/agricultural commodity and occupation/activity

Prevailing Wage Rate(s)	Unit

5. Productivity and Average Earnings of Piece Rate Workers

Complete the table below only if employers reported productivity standards and payments to U.S. workers based on piece rates. Do not include in this section information pertaining to youth under 16 years of age.

Rate Amount per Unit		Number of U.S. Workers	Number of Hours Worked	Total Unit(s) of Production	Average Hourly Earnings
Rate(s)	Unit(s)
A	B	C	D	E	F
$					$
$					$
$					$
$					$
$					$
$					$
$					$

6. Comments

Describe variables affecting rates, crop conditions or other explanatory and pertinent information

7. State Workforce Agency Prevailing Wage Survey Point of Contact

Provide a State Workforce Agency point of contact for the information provided on this form.

Name:					Title:
Mailing Address:
City:					State:			Zip Code:
Telephone Number:					E-mail:

OMB Public Burden Statement – Persons are not required to respond to this collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Respondents’ obligations to reply to these reporting requirements are voluntary (20 CFR 653.000 and 20 CFR 655). Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 11 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Foreign Labor Certification, Box 12-200, 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20210 (OMB Control Number 1205-0017).

Domestic Agricultural In-Season Wage Report

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Collection and Distribution of Wage Information

1. State agencies should conduct surveys at least once per season in any crop activity in a wage reporting area in which:

1. One hundred (100) or more workers were employed in the previous season, or are expected to be employed in the current season;

2. Foreign workers were employed in the previous season, or employers have requested or may be expected to request foreign workers in the current season, regardless of the number of workers involved;

3. The crop/agricultural commodity and occupation/activity has an unusually complex wage structure, or there are other factors affecting the prevailing wage which can best be determined by a wage survey; or

4. The crop/agricultural commodity or occupation/activity has been designated by the National Office as a major crop/agricultural commodity or occupation/activity, either because of the importance of the production of this crop/agricultural commodity to the national economy or because large numbers of workers are employed in the occupation/activity in a number of different areas in the country.

2. Wage data should be collected often enough to promptly reflect changes in wage rates and to permit current prevailing wage rate findings to be made applicable to the employment off the agricultural workers.

3. Surveys should be conducted in accordance with the preseason survey schedule set up by each State agency. Should a survey not result in a prevailing wage rate finding, another survey should be made at the earliest appropriate time. A report must be submitted for each survey, whether or not it results in a finding. The reason for not making a finding should be explained.

4. The original of the Form ETA-232 and one copy must be submitted to the National Office within two weeks after completion of the survey.

Completion Instructions

All items on the form are to be completed with no change in the format. However, the report may be supplemented by the inclusion of additional material. If the space provided on the form for any item is not adequate, complete information should be given on a separate attached sheet with the item(s) numbered to correspond to those on the form. All items should be checked for completeness and accuracy before transmittal.

Heading of Report

Name of the Wage Reporting Area - Enter the name of the wage reporting area as assigned by the State agency.

State - Enter the name of the State.

Wage Reporting Area Survey Number - Enter the number as assigned by the National Office.

Resubmission - Check the box if submitting a revised survey previously submitted to the National Office for the same period and crop/commodity and occupation/activity.

Crop/Agricultural Commodity - Enter the crop or agricultural commodity involved in the survey, i.e., apples, honey, sheep, etc. If several crops or commodities are reported, include all.

Occupation/Activity – Enter a description of the job actually being performed in the crop/agricultural commodity at time of the survey, i.e., harvester, herder, shearer, etc. Some occupations/activities associated with a specific crop involve a number of separate and distinct operations. For example, in harvesting tomatoes, some workers pick the tomatoes and place them in containers while others load the containers into trucks or other conveyances. Separate wage rates are usually paid for individual operation or combinations of operations. Each operation or job related to a specific occupation/activity for which a separate wage rate is paid should be identified and listed separately.

Survey Period - Enter the date on which the collection of the wage rate information reported in Section 3. of the form began and ended.

Date of Finding - Enter the date on which the prevailing wage rate finding was made.

Section 1

Estimated Number of Employers and U.S Workers Engaged in Crop/Agricultural Commodity and Occupation/Activity in the Wage Reporting Area

1. Enter an estimate of the total number of employers in the reporting area who were engaged in the crop/agricultural commodity and occupation/activity during the survey period.

2. Enter an estimate of the total number of U.S. workers in the reporting area who were employed in the crop/agricultural commodity and occupation/activity covered by the survey during the survey period.

3. Enter the name of the source used to obtain the estimate of employers and U.S. workers.

Section 2

Number of Employers Contacted (Sample Size)

Before conducting a survey, the State agency should assure itself that the planned sample will yield data which will be representative of the wage rates paid in the crop activity. Without regard to whether employers do or do not utilize the facilities of the Job Service, the wage survey sample should include workers of small, medium and large employers of domestic workers from all sectors of the area being surveyed, and should be selected by probability sampling methods. In constructing a sample, the following general guide should be observed.

Number of Workers in Crop/Agricultural Commodity and Occupation/Activity in Area	Sample size (percent of workers)
100-349	100
350-499	60
500-799	50
800-999	40
1000-1249	35
1250-1599	30
1600-2009	25
2100-2999	20
3000 or more	15

1. Enter the actual number of employers contacted during the survey period.

2. Enter the actual number of employers that responded to the survey.

3. Enter the actual number of employers who responded to the survey and who reported employing U.S. workers.

4. Enter the total number of U.S. workers engaged in crop/agricultural commodity and occupation/activity as reported by employers.

5. Provide method(s) of contact with the employers (i.e., personal interviews, telephone, mail, etc.)

Section 3

Reported Wage Rates for U.S. Workers

Column A. Enter all wage rates, including schedules, being paid during the survey period.

• List each different rate paid to U.S. workers covered in the survey. List the rates in descending order and group by method of pay.

• When a standard schedule is found to be paid by an employer, enter the word “schedule” on a single line in Column A just as if it were a separate rate. A copy of the schedule should be attached and a cross reference “see attached schedule” should be entered in this item.

• Piece rates with earnings guarantee represent a different method of payment from piece rates without earnings guarantee, and should be listed separately.

• Base rates with bonuses should also be shown separately from base rates without bonuses. Piece rates should not be converted into hourly rates; likewise, hourly rates should not be converted into piece rates. Units of payment should not be expressed in the form of a range or scale, even when the same rates are shown for different unit. For Example, if workers are receiving the same rates for different units, such as .25 for a 40 pound box and .25 for a 50 pound box of apples, the rates for each weight unit should be listed separately. However, it is permissible to show a range or scale of units of payment when, and only when, the data cannot be obtained from the original source in any other manner; e.g., when an employer states that a single rate is paid for varying size containers.

• When shift, daily, weekly or monthly wages are paid, show the approximate number of hours worked in the time for which the rate is paid.

Column B. Enter on the appropriate lines in Column B the method of payment made to the number of U.S. workers reported by employers to whom each rate in Column A is applicable.

Column C. Enter on the appropriate lines in Column C the number of U.S. workers reported by employers to whom each rate in Column A is applicable. Avoid double counting.

Section 4

Calculated Prevailing Wage Rate Finding(s)

Calculate and enter the actual wage rate which has been found to be prevailing among the U.S. workers who were employed in the crop/agricultural commodity and occupation/activity covered in the survey during the reporting period. If workers are used interchangeably for more than one activity in a crop/agricultural commodity, there may be more than one wage finding, i.e., pick, pick-load. Each activity/occupation should be reported on a separate ETA-232. The prevailing wage rate finding should be a single rate unless an equal number of workers receive two different methods of pay. If this occurs, the prevailing rate for each method should appear in the wage finding.

The State agency shall make the prevailing wage rate findings based upon the collected wage information and in conformity with the following:

1. 40 percent rule.  A single rate or schedule which accounts for the wages paid to 40 percent or more of the seasonal U.S. workers in a single crop activity is the prevailing rate.  If there are two such rates or schedules, the one accounting for the greater number of seasonal U.S. workers becomes the prevailing rate.  If two rates or schedules are being paid to the same number of workers and each rate accounts for at least 40 percent of the workers, then both rates or schedules are prevailing.

2. 51 percent rule.  If no single rate or schedule accounts for 40 percent or more of the workers and the rates are all in the same unit of payment (e.g., per lb.), array the rates in descending order and then count the cumulative number of workers, starting with the lowest in the array, until 51 percent of the workers covered in the survey are included.  The rate reached at this point is the prevailing wage rate.  (Rates such as per bushel and per 1 ¼ bushel box represent different units of payments).

3. More than one unit of payment.  If no single rate is being paid to at least 40 percent of the workers in a single crop activity and there is more than one unit of payment, such as per 1 bushel and per 1 1/8 bushels, determine the unit which is applicable to the largest number of workers.  Using this unit of payment, determine the prevailing rate in accordance with (a) or (b) above.  If there are different units of payment, each one accounting for an equal number of workers, make a separate prevailing rate finding for each unit.

4. Special procedures and requirements for base rate-bonus combinations:

1. For wage rates that include bonus rates in the same units as the base rates (e.g., 25 cents per box plus a 5-cent bonus per box), add the bonus to the base rate, in each case, to determine the gross rate.  Array the gross rates including the piece rates within each gross rate in descending order.  Each base rate and bonus combination and each piece rate without bonus will be considered separate rates for purposes of determining the prevailing rate.  For wage rates that include bonus rates in units different from the base unit (e.g., $1.10 per hour plus 40 cents per box) treat each such rate and bonus arrangement as a different unit of payment. After the above steps are taken, the prevailing wage rate finding should be made as described in paragraphs (a), (b), or (c) above, whichever is applicable to the situation.

(2)  Wage offers that include bonus rates in the same units as the base rates must include a base rate component not less than the base rate component of the prevailing wage.  The following example is illustrative:

Rate (per box)	Gross Rate	Number of Workers
Total		1,000
.20 + .02     bonus	.22	100
.17 + .04     bonus	.21	50
.20 +     (no bonus)	.20	150
.18 + .02     bonus	.20	250
.17 + .03     bonus	.20	300
.16 + .04     bonus	.20	100
.19 +    ( no bonus)	.19	50

Using the 51-percent rule (since no single rate accounts for 40 percent of the workers), the prevailing wage rate is .20 per box including a base rate of .18.  The rate of .17 + .03 bonus and .16 + .04 bonus equal the .20 prevailing gross rate, and the rate of .17 + .04 bonus exceeds it, but they are not acceptable for clearance orders because the base rates are less than the prevailing base rate of .18.

Section 5

Productivity and Average Hourly Earnings of Piece Rate Workers

Column A. Enter all wage rates being paid to piece rate workers during the survey period.

Column B. Enter the unit of payment made to the number of U.S. workers reported by employers to whom each rate in Column A is applicable.

Column C. Enter the number of U.S. workers reported by employers to whom each rate in Column A is applicable.

Column D. Enter the total number of hours worked by the workers in Column C.

Column E. Enter the total number of units (specified in Column B) produced by the workers in Column C during the total hours worked (Column D).

Column F. Enter the average hourly earnings based on production.

Section 6

Comments

Use for any pertinent explanation of developments during the survey or reporting period which require clarification, e.g.:

• Why no wage finding is made.

• Increase or decrease in prevailing rate from comparable period of previous year.

• Factors which will aid the National Office in its interpretation of the data.

• Deviations from standard operating procedures or instructions.

• Use of weighting procedures to arrive at a prevailing wage finding.

• Description of perquisite arrangements included in work agreements. Perquisites are not counted as part of wages and should not be included in Item 4 of Form ETA – 232.

Section 7

State Workforce Agency Prevailing Wage Survey Point of Contact

Name - Enter the name of the State Workforce Agency point of contact.

Title - Enter the title of the State Workforce Agency point of contact.

Mailing Address - Enter the street address of the State Workforce Agency point of contact.

City - Enter the name of the city of the State Workforce Agency point of contact.

State - Enter the name of the State.

Telephone Number - Enter the area code and telephone number of the State Workforce Agency point of contact.

E-mail - Enter the e-mail address of the State Workforce Agency point of contact in the format [email protected] domain.

Page 6 of 6

For more information, visit our Web site at www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov

Revised (2016)