A new report has indicated that an outsourcing company that was accused of stealing the wages of foreign workers on H1-B visas has obtained permission to supply workers to major Silicon Valley technology firms.
An economic policy institute obtained internal documents on workers’ wages at an outsourcing company through a federal government whistleblower lawsuit. These documents show evidence of the “wage theft” and are being used in a lawsuit against the company, which has been filed at a federal court in Connecticut.
The report claims that the outsourcing company has stolen $95 million or more in wages from the H1-B workers it employed and placed with at least three of Silicon Valley’s largest tech companies. The outsourcing company failed to respond to the report.
The report stated that the foreign national workers were not the only ones hurt by this wage theft and that U.S. workers were hurt by it as well. When employers are allowed to hire skilled foreign national workers and underpay them, it can result in U.S. workers being displaced, being paid lower wages, or working in the worst conditions. In other words, when these companies underpay their foreign labor, it makes it hard for domestic labor to compete.
H1-B visas are a way for companies to obtain skilled workers in areas in which there is a shortage of workers in the United States. When a company wishes to hire these workers, they must file with the Department of Labor and fulfill an extensive process before receiving permission to hire an H-1B worker. However, even then, they face considerable restrictions on minimum pay and hours.
Though many companies hire these workers directly, a larger number also obtain these workers through outsourcers. Tech companies are some of the largest users of H1-B workers, and for many, outsourcers produce an easy and affordable way to acquire these workers without employing them directly. Of the 30 companies that are the top users of H1-B workers, 17 of these companies use outsourcers.
For companies that do choose to hire H-1B workers on their own, it can be a challenging process, and once you have completed it and received your worker, it doesn’t get any easier. For every worker you hire, you will need to fill out Form I-9, which can be quite complicated and confusing. This makes it easy to make a mistake that could result in being penalized. So, the easiest way to handle all of your I-9’s is to use an electronic I-9 management tool. This can help you keep all your employee’s forms organized. It will also assist you in keeping track of important deadlines so that you won’t have to worry about being late for filing deadlines.