BALCA’s “Split the Baby” Decision on PERM
March 30, 2009 – 11:22 am
Recently, the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) created a surprise by giving a middle ground order in an appeal concerning prevailing wage determination. The board weighed all the evidence and supporting documents presented by both parties before arriving at the decision. An employer who disputed the State Workforce Agency’s (SWA) prevailing wage determination decision that was based on Dietrich 2007 Engineering Salary Survey, filed the appeal. The SWA found the position most comparable to “Engineer 5,” which has an average of annual base pay rate of $88,900 per year. However, the employer argued that the position was most closely related to the “Engineer 3 Position,” which has a prevailing yearly wage of $61,912.
After careful analysis of the job description and those description provided by the Dietrich Survey, BALCA ordered that the job description in Dietrich Survey’s “Engineer 4″ provide the closest match with the position for which the prevailing wage determination was sought. While delivering the order BALCA sensed that it may appear at first glance that the panel is attempting to “split the baby” by making a wage determination that is the average of the two figures offered by the CO and the employer. Further the board stated that lot of consideration went into the issue before hand before arriving at the middle ground because the “Engineer 3″ listing does not encompass the requirements of the employer’s position nor the CO’s determination. Finally, the board ordered the SWA to modify the prevailing wage determination to “Engineer 4,” which is $71,426.
For complete information on appeal, please click:
BALCA Revises Prevailing Wage for Engineer
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