What a PWD is
A prevailing wage determination is the wage rate the Department of Labor (DOL) sets for one specific job. The prevailing wage is the average pay of workers in the same occupation in the area where the job is.[1]
For a PERM labor certification, the employer must have a PWD from DOL's National Prevailing Wage Center (NPWC) before it files. The request is made on Form ETA-9141.[2][3]
For H-1B, H-1B1 and E-3, a PWD from the NPWC is optional: the employer can set the wage itself when it files the Labor Condition Application.[4]
How to read DOL's PWD processing times
DOL does not publish a number of days for PWDs. It publishes a month: the month in which the requests it is now working on were filed.[5]
The month is not a hard line. DOL may still be finishing some older requests.[6]
The "remaining requests" counts drop withdrawn and voided requests, so the count for a past month can go up or down between updates.[7]
DOL updates the PWD table once a month.[8]
The table splits requests into OEWS and non-OEWS. By default the wage comes from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' occupational wage survey, whose data DOL's FLAG pages call OEWS; an employer can instead give DOL its own survey.[9][10]
How to check a PWD case
PWD requests are filed online in DOL's FLAG system.[11]
Once a final decision is issued, it appears in the Historical table under My Cases.[12][13]
The confirmation email with the case number goes to the employer's point of contact and to the attorney or agent, not to the FLAG account's email address.[14]
To link a PWD from another account to a PERM application, DOL asks for the full PWD case number, in the format P-XXX-XXXXX-XXXXXX.[15]
A request can be withdrawn while it is in process, or after DOL has issued a request for information.[16]
How long a PWD is valid
DOL sets a validity period on each PWD. By regulation it is at least 90 days and at most one year from the date of the determination.[17]
To use the wage, the employer must file the application or start the required recruitment within that validity period.[18][19]
Wage levels
The law says a government wage survey used for prevailing wages must have at least four wage levels, tied to experience, education and level of supervision.[20]
DOL assigns a skill level to each job. An employer that disagrees can send supplemental information once.[21][22]
If DOL keeps its decision, the employer can ask for a new determination or appeal.[23]
The statute sets the required prevailing wage at 100 percent of the wage determined, not a fraction of it.[24]
DOL publishes the survey wages by occupation and area on its OFLC Wage Search page.[25]
Where this fits
The PWD is step 2 of PERM; the full sequence is in PERM and prevailing wage, and DOL's PERM processing times are on the PERM and prevailing wage processing times page.