Centralized Labor Certification Proposed

The Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed centralizing the application processing system for foreign labor certification. According to the proposal, each DOL National Processing Center (NPC) will specialize on specific case types, which will effectively permit greater consistency in the adjudication. The Chicago NPC will focus on processing temporary applications, including those related to the H-2A and H-2B programs, and the Atlanta NPC will focus on permanent labor certification (PERM) applications.

In effort to improve efficiency, the DOL has also proposed eliminating the role of the State Workforce Agencies (SWA) in making prevailing wage determinations for the H-2B, H-1B, and PERM programs. Employers would submit a request for a prevailing wage determination directly to the NPC. For the H-2B program, the employer would also be required to complete recruitment prior to the filing of an application for labor certification with the NPC.

Businesses should be aware that the centralization efforts, combined with the closing of the Backlog Elimination Centers, signals the DOL’s shifting of more resources towards regulatory enforcement. The DOL has recently selected more cases for auditing, including random audits and those targeting specific legal issues. Targeted audits generally focus on issues such as the employers’ internal postings, whether stated job requirements are normal for the occupation, and whether the foreign national gained experience with the employer that submitted the PERM application. As expected, audited cases are subject to longer processing times.

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