1.      DOL’s Proposed Prevailing Wage Rule Is One to Watch

The U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed prevailing wage rule is one that may have a significant impact on companies and HR professionals. Published in the Federal Register on March 27, 2026, the proposal would significantly raise prevailing wage requirements across the H-1B, H-1B1, E-3, and PERM programs, with comments due by May 26, 2026.

If finalized, the changes would be especially significant for entry-level hiring. The proposal would increase the Level 1 wage by approximately 33%, which equates to an average annual increase of approximately $14,000 per affected worker.

For employers, this is not a technical change, but a material increase in labor costs that would affect not only new H-1B filings, but also extensions, amendments, and PERM-based green card sponsorship strategies. DOL’s own data reflects how broad the impact could be: in FY 2024, 62.6% of H-1B workers were certified at Wage Level I or II, meaning a substantial share of current sponsorship cases sit in the wage bands most directly impacted by the proposal.

Why this matters for HR

For many employers, the traditional foreign national talent pipeline has long been relatively predictable: F-1 student to OPT to H-1B professional to PERM-based permanent residence. That pathway is becoming more expensive and less predictable at each stage.

For HR teams, that means the economics of sponsorship may change materially, particularly for recent graduates, early-career professionals, and employers who require foreign nationals as an integral part of their workforce to meet their human resource needs.

The impact extends beyond H-1B

The proposal also matters because it would affect PERM labor certifications for EB-2 and EB-3 green card cases, not just temporary work visa filings. DOL’s prevailing wage framework is used across both temporary and permanent labor-based immigration programs, so a meaningful increase in wage floors would raise the cost of sponsorship at the green card stage as well.

That is especially important for employers that use H-1B sponsorship as part of a long-term employee retention strategy. If wage floors rise substantially both at the temporary worker stage and again in the permanent residence process, some employers may decide that sponsorship is no longer feasible for certain roles, potentially leaving employers with a workforce shortage.

Strategic implications

For HR professionals, the takeaway is not panic, but planning.

Employers should consider identifying sponsored roles that would be classified as Wage Level I or II roles , reviewing compensation assumptions for pending and future cases, and reassessing how international student hiring fits into long-term workforce planning. Budgeting models that were workable even a year ago may no longer be practical if this proposal is finalized substantially as written.

This may also affect recruiting and retention conversations with foreign national employees. For some workers, especially those facing long immigrant visa backlogs, the employer-sponsored route may increasingly look less certain than it once did. DOL acknowledged in the rulemaking that some employment-based immigrants face waits that can extend well over a decade, depending on visa category and country of chargeability.

Bottom line

The DOL prevailing wage rule is still only a proposal but it fits within a larger set of recent policy changes that all move in the same direction: higher wage thresholds, higher filing-related costs, and a more expensive employer-sponsored immigration system overall.

2.      Related Development: DOL Worksite Enforcement Is Increasing

The proposed prevailing wage rule should also be viewed alongside a second, recent development: reports of a marked increase in DOL enforcement activity in the H-1B space. In September 2025, DOL launched Project Firewall, an enforcement initiative focused on H-1B compliance and aimed at identifying misuse of the program, including displacement concerns, recruitment issues, and wage-and-hour violations. DOL states that the initiative prioritizes investigations where there are signs of abuse and is intended to ensure employers “prioritize qualified American workers” and comply with H-1B program requirements.

Recent reporting suggests that enforcement activity has accelerated meaningfully since Project Firewall began. Bloomberg Law reported this week that, according to a DOL official, the agency has seen a 48% increase in its H-1B investigation caseload since launching the initiative, and practitioners are also reporting more site visits and more sophisticated, data-driven requests for information.

For HR professionals, the practical point is straightforward: the compliance environment is tightening on both the front end and the back end. On the front end, DOL is proposing to raise the wage floor for H-1B and PERM cases. On the back end, DOL appears to be increasing scrutiny of whether employers are in fact complying with the LCA obligations they have already certified. In other words, employers may soon face higher wage requirements to file cases and a greater likelihood of investigation after filing them.

HR Takeaways on Project Firewall and LCA Investigations

HR teams should treat this as a good time to review the fundamentals of H-1B compliance. That includes confirming that LCA posting and notice practices are being followed consistently, that H-1B public access files are complete and current, that the company is paying at least the required wage, and that internal records accurately reflect the employee’s actual worksite, job duties, reporting structure, and compensation.

HR should also make sure there is a plan for responding quickly and consistently if an inquiry arrives. That means identifying who receives DOL correspondence, who coordinates document collection, who interfaces with outside counsel, and how the company will gather payroll, posting, and worksite records on short notice. Even where there is no substantive violation, a disorganized response can create unnecessary risk. DOL has emphasized that Project Firewall can lead to back-wage exposure, civil penalties, and even H-1B program debarment in egregious cases.

Finally, employers should assume that H-1B compliance is becoming more data-driven. That makes it especially important to review common pressure points now, including remote and hybrid worksites, changes in job location, wage adjustments, promotions or title changes, and consistency between immigration filings and HR/payroll systems. The larger message from DOL is becoming clear: employers who sponsor foreign national workers should expect both higher entry costs and greater enforcement scrutiny going forward.

Conclusion:

Taken together, the proposed prevailing wage rule and the rise in Project Firewall investigations point in the same direction: employer-sponsored immigration is becoming more expensive, more enforcement-focused, and less forgiving of compliance gaps. For our HR professionals, now is the time not only to revisit compensation assumptions for H-1B and PERM cases, but also to stress-test internal compliance processes in order to be well prepared in the case that DOL comes knocking. 

We will continue to monitor regulatory developments and legal challenges and will provide you with further updates as more information becomes available.

  For further information, please contact:

Anthony F. Siliato | Scott R. Malyk | Lin R. Walker | Stacey A. Simon

Meyner and Landis LLP

One Gateway Center, Suite 2500, Newark, New Jersey 07102

Asiliato@meyner.com | Smalyk@meyner.com | Lwalker@meyner.com | Ssimon@meyner.com

Disclaimer: The information contained herein is intended only for informational purposes and is not a substitute for legal advice. Further, reading this Client Alert in no way establishes an attorney/client relationship between you and Meyner and Landis LLP. Readers should consult legal counsel for definitive advice regarding the current law and regulations and how those apply to your unique situation within your organization.