Continue....The PERM World
PERM RECRUITMENT AND THE PREVAILING WAGE PROCESS
PERM'S PREVAILING WAGE DETERMINATION PROCESS
Any applicant for the PERM L/C must be paid the prevailing wage for the position offered. Until now, the employer could pay 95% of the prevailing wage. Under PERM (for the L/C), and pursuant to the provisions of The H-1B Reform Act of 2004 (for the H-1B), employers will have to pay employees one hundred percent (100%) of the mandated prevailing wage. One popular way to obtain the federally mandated prevailing wage is to use the Occupational Employment Statistic ("OES"). The often criticized OES reports two salary levels. Level one is for entry-level positions. Level two is for senior-level positions (which is anything above entry-level). Now, under PERM (and also The H-1B Reform Act of 2004), there are four wage levels, which will take into account middle level positions as opposed to only entry level (Level One) and senior level (Level Two).
Procedurally, the Applicant(s) must first obtain a PWD from the SWA having jurisdiction over the location of the job offer. Each State has a special form that allows one to make a prevailing wage request. The PERM Regulations do not specify the time period that a SWA has to render a PWD. However, the PERM Regulations call for the SWA to issue a "quick" response. In the PWD process, an organization may use their own survey (private survey) but the survey will need to meet the special criteria set forth in GAL 2-98. The PERM Regulations suggest that if the SWA is familiar with a particular wage survey, then it should not undertake an entire analysis of the survey each time a PWD request is submitted to determine if it meets DOL standards.
As previously indicated, one of the most popular ways to determine the prevailing wage has been to use the OES. The PERM Regulations state that the employer may add any "guaranteed" bonuses or commissions to the salary to meet the prevailing wage. If the bonus or commission is not "guaranteed", it cannot be added to the specified wage. Consistent with the prospective nature of the L/C process, the prevailing wage must be paid from the time that the prospective employee takes the offered position after lawful permanent residence ("LPR") in the U.S. has been granted.
It is important to note at this juncture that the offered wage does not have to specified in the recruiting advertisement but it does need to be specified on the physical posting at the worksite. The PERM Regulations provide that the worksite posting can include a salary range if, and only if, the lower-end of the specified range is equal to 100% of the designated prevailing wage. For Schedule A positions (e.g. a Nurse position), a PWD from the SWA is now required. Should the requestor disagree with the specified PWD, supplemental information may be required or a request may be made for a new PWD or the requestor may appeal the PWD utilizing the administrative process.
RECRUITMENT USING THE NEW PERM WORKSITE POSTING REQUIREMENT
After the PWD is obtained from the SWA, the employer must post a notice of the job opportunity at the worksite for not less than ten (10) BUSINESS days. The notice must be posted from 30 days to 180 days prior to filing the L/C. The notice must specifically designate the address where one viewing the posting can report complaints to an appropriate office of the DOL. As previously pointed out, the offered wage does not have to be listed in the recruiting advertisement but it does need to be specified in the physical posting at the worksite.
REAL WORLD RECRUITMENT USING IN-HOUSE MEDIA UNDER PERM
If the organization normally uses in-house postings or internet postings to recruit workers then the organization must do what it "normally does" for in-house media notifications, in terms of both the length and the content of the posting.
REAL WORLD RECRUITMENT USING THE SWA JOB ORDER UNDER
PERM Part of the recruitment process is that the organization must place a job order for the offered position with the SWA for a period of thirty (30) days. This means that an advertisement for placement of a job order must be sent to the SWA at least thirty (30) days prior to filing of the L/C.
REAL WORLD RECRUITMENT USING THE SWA JOB ORDER UNDER PERM The PERM Regulations provide that the organization must place two (2) advertisements on two (2) different Sundays in a newspaper of general circulation in the area of intended employment. The advertisements (as with other recruitment) must be done at least thirty (30) days before and less than six (6) months prior to filing of the L/C.
According to the PERM Regulations, the advertisements must contain the following information:
1. The name of the employer; and
2. The geographic area of employment; and
3. A description of the job specific enough to apprise U.S. workers of the job opportunity. The description may (but need not necessarily) include the experience requirements and minimum education requirements; and
4. The advertisement does not have to contain the salary or a detailed description of all of the job requirements.
The PERM Regulations specify that if a job is one that is designated as "Professional" (which is generally a job listed in an Addendum to the Regulations) then three (3) additional "real world" recruitment efforts need to be undertaken.
The prospective employer has a choice of three (3) of any of the following: 1. Evidence of recruitment for the position at job fairs; and/or
2. Posting on the prospective employer's website; and/or
3. Posting of the position on a job-related website other than that of the prospective employer's. (For example, if a print advertisement is made in the New York Times then the prospective employer can use the internet advertisement that appears at the New York Times website to satisfy this requirement.); and/or
4. Evidence of on-campus recruiting at colleges or universities; and/or
5. Listings with or in journals of trade or professional organizations; and/or
6. Efforts of recruitment from private employment firms; and/or
7. Evidence of employee referral program(s) (but only if the program provides specific incentives for referrals); and/or
8. Listings in local and ethnic newspapers, to the extent they are appropriate for the job being offered; and/or
9. Evidence of radio and/or television advertisements for the position.
Only one of the foregoing additional recruitment steps can be made within thirty (30) days prior to filing the L/C. The other recruitment efforts must be made within six (6) months of the filing of the L/C.
PERM RECRUITMENT REPORT FOR THE DOL Following recruitment efforts, the prospective employer is required to prepare and maintain a detailed recruitment report that fully and accurately describes the recruitment efforts undertaken and the results. The recruitment report must include the number of positions available, the number of U.S. workers rejected which have been categorized by the job-related reasons for rejection. While not required as part of the report, in the event of an audit, the DOL may request copies of workers' resumes, sorted by the reasons for rejection. The PERM Regulations do not require the report to contain the names of the U.S. workers who applied for the prospective position(s). The recruitment report and other supporting documentation must be retained for five (5) years from the date of filing of the PERM L/C.
SPECIFYING THE METHOD FOR THE REJECTION OF U.S. WORKERS UNDER PERM If U.S. workers do not meet the specified minimum requirements for the prospective position being offered on a full-time and permanent basis, he or she may be rejected. However, the Regulations make it clear that if a worker lacks a skill that may be acquired during a "reasonable period" of on-the-job training, the lack of any such skill is not a basis for rejecting an otherwise qualified U.S. worker.
Source: ilw.com