New H-2B Regulations and Rules

On December 19, 2008, the Office of the Federal Register published the Final
Rule on H-2B Temporary Non-agricultural Employment. The Final Rule takes
effect January 18, 2009. Certain aspects of the Final Rule will allow for a
transition period.

There are no changes for applications filed before January 18, 2009. The
Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) continues to process
active H-2B applications.

What's new after January 18, 2009? Employers will complete recruitment
before submitting the H-2B application, ETA Form 9142, to the Department of
Labor's National Processing Center (NPC).

Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD):
• Before starting recruitment, employers must obtain a PWD.
• If workers are needed before October 1, 2009, submit a prevailing wage
request to ESD using the state's current prevailing wage request form.
• If workers are needed after October 1, 2009, submit a prevailing wage
request to the NPC using ETA Form 9141.

Job order:
• Employers should submit an acceptable job order to ESD to post for 30
days. The job order should not be posted more that 120 days before
workers are needed.
• Employer must provide NPC with documentation of the State Workforce
Agency job order.
Referrals:
• ESD verifies employment eligibility of all referrals from the job order using
the 1-9 form.
• Referrals made by ESD will be from a local WorkSource center in the
areas of intended employment.

Recruitment:

While the job order is open, the employer will publish a local newspaper
advertisement that meets all requirements, on two separate days,
including a Sunday.
• If party to a collective bargaining agreement, the employer should contact
the local union as a recruitment source.
Recruitment report:
• Employer should prepare, sign and date a written recruitment report that
meets all requirements and submit it to NPC with the application.