Posted on 01/03/2003 1:29:13 PM PST by madfly
Edited on 04/13/2004 2:41:37 AM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]
The Bush administration, under fire for its handling of the economy, has quietly killed off a Labor Department program that tracked mass layoffs by U.S. companies.
The statistic, which had been issued monthly and was closely watched by hard-hit Silicon Valley, served as a pulse reading of corporate America's financial health.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
This topic is a little out of my league. I am posting in hopes of an informative discussion, but preparing to be flamed, nontheless. :)
Imagine your surprise when you find out this material has been running in another thread for hours.
Sorry. I used the word "material". This article is new. I didn't mean it badly.
The economy grew at 3.4% last year. Unemploment is only 6%. Housing sales broke all records in October 2002. 170,000 jobs were CREATED last year (despite the layoff scare articles). The economy is doing just fine thank you...
It's not that they didn't want the information, it's just that the program was redundant. It was discovered that they could get the same information simply by logging onto FreeRepublic and searching for Willie Green's posts.
Unemploment is only 6%. Housing sales broke all records in October 2002. 170,000 jobs were CREATED last year (despite the layoff scare articles). The economy is doing just fine thank you...This is true in spite of all the workers replaced by foreigners with H1B and diversity visas? I don't have any numbers, but I've heard a lot of first hand stories from freepers that there are a lot of folks replaced in favor the lower salaries these people will work for.
If AT&T announced that they were laying off 10,000 people within the next six months, many of them were people who simply took an early retirement offer and should not have counted in the "layoff" statistics.
Why do people continue to spread this crap? What you are touting is illegal...
Wage Requirement On the Labor Condition Application (LCA) the employer must attest that it will pay "no less than the greater of the following" :In short...they have to pay H1B workers the prevailing wage in that area for that position. Anyone that states that these workers are taking jobs from Americans at a lower wage is full of you-know-what.(a) The actual wage level paid to all other individuals at the work site with similar experience and qualifications for the position in question; OR
(b) The prevailing wage for the occupational classification in the area of intended employment.
The above is only one of the attestations, or promises that the employer must agree to on the LCA.
Proving the Actual Wage Paid to Other Similar Workers
The actual wage can be proved by documenting the wages paid to other employees holding similar positions to the H1B worker/s and having similar qualifications. In determining such wage level, the following factors may be considered: experience, qualifications, education, job responsibility and function, specialized knowledge, and other legitimate business factors. If there is an official wage scale, either as a result of a collective bargaining agreement or based upon employer policy, that information is also considered. Actual wage documentation is not submitted to INS or the DOL when filing an LCA or petitioning for an H1B worker; however, DOL can request it from the employer if needed, such as in the context of an investigation of the employer's practices.
Determining the Prevailing Wage in the Locality
Determining the prevailing wage can be accomplished in one of several ways. One way is to contact the state department of labor / department of employment security (actual name of the agency varies from state to state) and ask them for the recommended wage. There is generally a form to request this information, and the state labor office will make the wage determination based upon data that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has collected. This data is also available on the internet, but legally it is safest for the employer if an actual determination is made. If the employer or attorney makes an independent judgment based on viewing the data on the internet, it is possible that the different job category or experience level that is chosen would be different from the ones that the officials who do the wage determinations would choose for the position. If relying on the prevailing wage determined by DLLR, the employer must file the LCA within ninety (90) days from the date of DLLR's determination of the prevailing wage.
Alternative sources of wage information that can also be accepted under the law include:
(a) a wage survey from an independent authoritative source published in a book, newspaper, periodical, loose-leaf service, newsletter or other medium within 24 months prior to filing the application. There are other detailed requirements in the DOL regulations regarding these sources.
(b) another legitimate source of wage data, such as a custom survey commissioned by the employer, or perhaps a survey conducted by the employer itself. The employer may be called upon to prove the legitimacy of the source.
(c) a union contract which was negotiated at arms length between the union and the employer if it contains wage information applicable to the occupation in question.
In any of these wage determination situations, the company needs to keep on file for inspection the documentation upon which the company relied to determine the wage to be paid. The LCA can be filed no earlier than six months before the beginning date of the period of employment, as indicated on the LCA.
It's not that citizens of the respective states have no real to need to know, it's the simple fact this is just another example of the national government doing something it wasn't originally intended to do. Eliminating the Labor Department as a whole, not just this one part, should be a good start
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