Webinar: 5 prevailing wage takeaways for HR and mobility teams

The Department of Labor’s proposed prevailing wage rule could represent a significant change to H-1B and PERM wage requirements. 

On May 12, Manifest Law brought together a panel—featuring immigration attorney Nandini Nair, former immigration judge Mimi Tsankov, and former DOL Wage & Hour official Don Harrison—to walk employers through what it could mean in practice. Here are five things every sponsoring employer should understand.

1. The cost to employers depends on occupation, location, and wage level

During the webinar, Dini Nair walked through a specific example: a Level II computer programmer role in New York City would currently require a prevailing wage around $98,000. Under the proposed rule, the requirement would rise to approximately $122,000—roughly $24,000 more per worker per year.

“Same job, same person, same job duties,” Nair said.

For a startup with five sponsored employees in comparable roles, that compounds to $120,000 in additional annual payroll. The DOL’s own estimate puts the average increase at approximately $14,000 per year per worker. 

But there could be significant variation by occupation and geography. Employers should model their specific roles against current OEWS data, not the headline figure.

2. The time to act is now 

The rule applies going forward, not backward. Previously approved prevailing wage determinations, LCAs, and PERM applications will not be reopened.

That distinction creates a window for employers to act. Both Nair and Harrison named it as the primary takeaway from the session.

“Timing, baby, timing,” Nair said. “It’s all about the timing.” 

Employers who move now can lock in today’s lower wage, at least until they need a new prevailing wage. Harrison reinforced the point directly:

“These are not retroactive,” he said. “This is a prospective rule. So if you can get the existing prevailing wage—just take a look at your workforce, take a look at the deadlines coming up, and go ahead and do that. Time is of the essence.”

3. PERM cases and Level I and II positions need attention first

Some cases are more urgent than others. PERM cases warrant particular focus because the prevailing wage determination is the first step in the process. And under the proposed rule, that step gets significantly more expensive. 

Nair told employers to look hard at any internal policy that makes workers wait before the firm will sponsor them. If the rule passes, the delay could be costly. 

The proposed increases hit Level I and Level II wages hardest, and they cover every major visa category. Employers should pull their active and pending LCAs now and find out which positions sit in those two levels.

4. File early, but file carefully

Mimi Tsankov offered a word of caution for HR and global mobility teams. Filing early makes sense. But the paperwork has to be clean. 

“You should lock in the lower wage and submit as it is,” she said. “But this is one of those times when you want to have an airtight application and work very closely with your attorney. You can anticipate extra scrutiny if you’ve been smart enough to do this the right way in advance.”

Her point: Adjudicators may apply closer attention to applications that lock in pre-rule wages. File early, but not at the expense of a strong petition.

5. This rule is built differently than the one that failed in 2020

A similar version of this rule, proposed in 2020, ultimately failed on procedural grounds. That rule was issued as an interim final rule without a full public comment period, just months before the administration changed, and it was withdrawn in 2021.

The current version followed proper notice-and-comment procedure and arrived early in the administration’s term. Harrison said his rule has the time and the procedural footing to make it through the court system. 

As a result, employers should plan around the assumption that it proceeds. Any legal challenge may not provide relief.

Watch the full webinar

Nandini Nair, Mimi Tsankov, and Don Harrison covered PERM strategy, LCA timing, comment period analysis, and more across the full 60-minute session. Leave your email below and we’ll send you the recording directly.