Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, DOL NEWS—2026 Regulatory Agenda anticipates major changes impacting PERM, (Jul 9, 2026)
By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.
Two new Department of Labor items in the Trump administration’s Spring 2026 Unified Agenda indicated a potential overhaul of the PERM labor certification system.
In the Trump administration’s Spring 2026 Unified Agenda, the Labor Department has two new entries relating to immigrant employment in the United States.
In one “proposed rule stage” agenda item, “Modernizing the Labor Market Test and Improving Protections for U.S. Workers in the PERM Immigrant Visa Program" (RIN 1205-AC29), the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) of the Department of Labor (DOL) announces that it is initiating rulemaking to “modernize” aspects of the permanent labor certification process (PERM) program for U.S. employers seeking to employ foreign nationals on a permanent basis. According to DOL, the regulations governing the PERM process have not been comprehensively modified since 2004.
DOL seeks to modernize the standards and procedures by which it receives and reviews employers' applications for permanent labor certification by:
improving minimum standards for recruiting qualified U.S. workers;
strengthening protections for workers affected by layoffs;
enhancing employer compliance with nondiscriminatory recruitment and hiring requirements;
updating record-retention obligations; and
better reflecting current labor market conditions and recruitment methods.
The proposal also appears aimed at increasing scrutiny of employers seeking permanent labor certification after conducting layoffs in related occupations (it references “true shortages”).
In another proposed rule stage item, "Improving Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Foreign Nationals in the United States" (RIN 1205-AC30), DOL states that it plans to revise regulations governing prevailing wages for PERM labor certifications as well as H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3 visa programs. Specifically, the agency states that, in response to the September 19, 2025, Presidential Proclamation, Restriction on Entry of Certain Nonimmigrant Workers, it is initiating a rulemaking to revise prevailing wage levels, which it claims is consistent with Section 212(n) of the INA, 8 U.S.C. 1182(n).
The agency states the changes would affect the four-tier prevailing wage structure derived from Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics data.
According to DOL, the proposal is intended to better align prevailing wage levels with wages paid to similarly employed U.S. workers, strengthen program integrity and reduce incentives for employers to use foreign-worker programs in ways that could negatively affect U.S. wages and working conditions.
According to the announcement, the proposed rule will have an annualized cost of $3.37 million and a total 10-year cost of $23.66 million at a discount rate of 7 percent in 2024 dollars. The NPRM will result in annualized transfer payments (U.S. employers to other entities and individuals, including foreign workers) of up to $15.76 billion and total 10-year transfer payments of up to $110.66 billion at a discount rate of 7 percent in 2024 dollars.
DOL claims that one benefit of the NPRM 's increase in prevailing wages is the economic incentive to increase employee retention, training, and productivity which will increase benefits to both employers and U.S. workers. Strengthening prevailing wages will also help promote and protect jobs for U.S. workers, it contends, because by ensuring that the employment of any foreign worker is commensurate with the wages paid to similarly employed U.S. workers, DOL will be protecting economically critical types of white-collar, middle-class jobs. It also states that ensuring that skilled occupations are not performed at below-market wage rates by foreign workers will provide greater incentives for firms to expand education and job training programs.
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