Actual Wage Form - Instructions and Information
Per Department of Labor regulations, the H-1B employee must be paid whichever is higher, the actual wage or the prevailing wage. The actual wage is the amount being paid to all other MIT employees with similar experience and qualifications for that specific position at the particular department, laboratory, or center. The prevailing wage is the rate being paid in the greater Boston area for the same occupation.
An H-1B advisor in the ISchO will submit a request to the Department of Labor for the prevailing wage. The department, lab, or center needs to complete the actual wage form demonstrating the actual wage, as well as the prevailing wage worksheet, to provide the information needed for the prevailing wage request.
The Department of Labor requires MIT to have and document an objective compensation system used to determine the wages of H-1B scholars. In establishing the compensation system for a particular position, MIT is allowed to take into consideration objective standards relating to experience, qualifications, education, specific job responsibility and function, specialized knowledge, and other legitimate business factors. If the salary of any similarly employed worker is adjusted during the dates covered by the Labor Condition Application (LCA) because of a raise, cost of living increase, a move to a more advanced level in the same position, etc., this adjustment must also be made for the H-1B scholar using the same criteria.
If the scholar's position is unique (the scholar is the only person in the department, laboratory, or center with this title and doing this type of work), the amount he or she will be paid is the actual wage. If the scholar's position is not unique and there are other employees with substantially similar experience and qualifications and substantially the same duties, title, and responsibilities as the scholar, the actual wage is the amount paid to these employees. Please note that the actual wage is not an average of these wages but a range.
Last Updated: June 2015