Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, FEDERAL REGULATIONS—OPM finalizes FWS regulatory criteria; USCIS updates labor certification procedures, (Jan 13, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:Office of Personnel Management
By Patricia K. Ruiz, J.D.
The changes to wage area boundaries will affect about 10 percent of the FWS workforce.
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) finalized changes to regulatory criteria used to define Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area boundaries. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a notice in the Federal Register on updated procedures related to labor certification.
Federal Wage System wage area boundaries. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a final rule to change the regulatory criteria used to define Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area boundaries and make changes in certain wage areas. The change, which will affect about 10 percent of the FWS workforce, will make the FWS wage area criteria more similar to the General Schedule (GS) locality pay area criteria. The change is based on a December 2023 majority recommendation by the Federal Prevailing Rate Advisory Committee (FPRAC), which advises the OPM on the administration of the FWS. The final rule becomes effective October 1, 2025.
Labor certification procedures. The USCIS announced in a notice updated procedures for submitting a Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Workers. It also announced a permanent labor certification approval, application for Schedule A designation, or National Interest Waiver request following the DOL’s implementation of the Foreign Labor Application Gateway system.
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