(a) Compliance with rates of pay.

(1) To comply with its obligation under §655.210(g), an employer must offer, advertise in its recruitment and pay each worker employed under §§655.200-655.235 a wage that is the highest of the monthly AEWR established under this section, the agreed-upon collective bargaining wage, or the applicable minimum wage imposed by Federal or State law or judicial action.

(2) If the monthly AEWR established under this section is adjusted during a work contract, and is higher than both the agreed-upon collective bargaining wage and the applicable minimum wage imposed by Federal or State law or judicial action in effect at the time the work is performed, the employer must pay that adjusted monthly AEWR upon publication by the Department in the Federal Register.

(b) Publication of the monthly AEWR. The OFLC Administrator will publish a notice in the Federal Register, at least once in each calendar year, on a date to be determined by the OFLC Administrator, establishing the monthly AEWR.

(c) Monthly AEWR Rate.

(1) The monthly AEWR shall be $7.25 multiplied by 48 hours, and then multiplied by 4.333 weeks per month; and

(2) Beginning for calendar year 2017, the monthly AEWR shall be adjusted annually based on the Employment Cost Index for wages and salaries published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (ECI) for the preceding October—October period.

(d) Transition Rates.

(1) For the period from the effective date of this rule through calendar year 2016, the Department shall set the monthly AEWR at 80% of the result of the formula in paragraph (c) of this section.

(2) For calendar year 2017, the Department shall set the monthly AEWR at 90% of the result of the formula in paragraph (c) of this section.

(3) For calendar year 2018 and beyond, the Department shall set the monthly AEWR at 100% of the result of the formula in paragraph (c) of this section.