Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

DOL Closes Infosys Investigation: Replacing Americans with Cheaper Foreigners is Legal
Right Side News ^ | Sep 15, 2015

Posted on 09/15/2015 8:18:30 AM PDT by ConservingFreedom

Last Tuesday, Infosys Ltd announced that the Department of Labor (DOL) had closed its investigation into whether the company had broken the law when Southern California Edison laid off about 500 American technology workers and replaced them with H-1B visa holders from the Indian software exporters TCS and Infosys. (Reuters, Sept. 8, 2015; The Economic Times, Sept. 8, 2015) The investigation was spurred by an April bipartisan letter from 10 Senators calling for the Obama administration to look into potential wrongdoing. (The Hill, Apr. 9, 2015; see Senators’ Letter, Apr. 9, 2015). However, the Labor Department cleared Infosys of all wrongdoing because the H-1B program is statutorily written in a way that allows employers to legally replace Americans with cheaper foreign workers. (Reuters, Sept. 8, 2015; The Economic Times, Sept. 8, 2015)

Congress created the H-1B visa program in 1990 to allow U.S. employers to hire foreign workers, purported on a “temporary” basis, for “specialty occupations.” The visa is most commonly associated with “high-skilled” jobs in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. (Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 101(a)(H)(15)) The law was written to appear to provide protections for American workers by requiring companies to pay H-1B workers the “prevailing wage” for their job and not adversely affect the working conditions of American workers “similarly employed.” (See INA Section 212 (n)(1) (emphasis added); see also Informationweek.com, Nov. 20, 2013;Wall Street Journal, Feb. 1, 2011; analysis by John Miano, July 1, 2015)

However, these protections are misleading because of the way Congress defined the “prevailing wage.” According to the statute, the “prevailing wage” is calculated using a governmental survey that provides “at least four levels of wages commensurate with experience, education, and the level of supervision.” (INA § 212(p)(4)) This language allows the employer to determine the prevailing wage based on the position description rather than the H-1B worker’s actual skill level. Therefore, employers can legally replace Americans with cheaper foreign workers by claiming that the H-1B position is different than the displaced American worker’s (regardless of actual job responsibilities) and not in violation of the “similarly employed” provision.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: aliens; boughtbyinfosys; bribery; corporatewelfare; h1b; immmigration
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-24 next last

1 posted on 09/15/2015 8:18:30 AM PDT by ConservingFreedom
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: ConservingFreedom

So therefore it should be legal to dump more expensive unionized labor for non-unionized.


2 posted on 09/15/2015 8:19:47 AM PDT by chemical_boy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Parmenio; ColdOne; Yossarian; knittnmom; sf4dubya; Mr. Peabody; wally_bert; dowcaet; ...
H-1B ping. Let me know if you're not on the list and want to be added (or are and want to be removed).
3 posted on 09/15/2015 8:20:52 AM PDT by ConservingFreedom (a "guest worker" is a stateless person with no ties to any community, only to his paymaster)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservingFreedom

Great! So let’s replace our lazy, over-paid government hacks with Chinese bureaucrats, who would probably work long hours for less. The fewer Americans we employ in government, the better the efficiency will be.


4 posted on 09/15/2015 8:21:01 AM PDT by txrefugee
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservingFreedom

And people wonder why Trump is surging!


5 posted on 09/15/2015 8:22:46 AM PDT by Jim from C-Town (The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservingFreedom

America’s Federal Government Bureaucracy

Doing the dirty job of destroying the nation that real Americans won’t do.


6 posted on 09/15/2015 8:23:14 AM PDT by Iron Munro (CITY: A liberal run holding pen for useless headcount.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservingFreedom

-—The investigation was spurred by an April bipartisan letter from 10 Senators calling for the Obama administration to look into potential wrongdoing.-—

You’ve got to be kidding. Did these 10 Senators really think the OBAMA administration would find fault with anything that hurts Americans?

There really is something in the water inside that Beltway.


7 posted on 09/15/2015 8:26:54 AM PDT by MichaelCorleone (Jesus Christ is not a religion. He's the Truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservingFreedom

This kind of news is going to make it that much harder for Cruz to explain and defend his proposal to increase H1B’s.


8 posted on 09/15/2015 8:28:57 AM PDT by MichaelCorleone (Jesus Christ is not a religion. He's the Truth.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Iron Munro
America’s Federal Government Bureaucracy

Doing the dirty job of destroying the nation

As directed by the Uniparty in Congress: 'these protections are misleading because of the way Congress defined the “prevailing wage.”'

9 posted on 09/15/2015 8:31:12 AM PDT by ConservingFreedom (a "guest worker" is a stateless person with no ties to any community, only to his paymaster)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: ConservingFreedom

H1B / DOL bump for later......


10 posted on 09/15/2015 8:32:07 AM PDT by indthkr
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: MichaelCorleone

Congress needs to change the law. Trump needs to propose that and make it an issue in the election .


11 posted on 09/15/2015 8:32:16 AM PDT by Oldexpat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: MichaelCorleone
"This kind of news is going to make it that much harder for Cruz to explain and defend his proposal to increase H1B’s."

He really needs to. This is a major sticking point with me on a Cruz candidacy.

12 posted on 09/15/2015 8:36:18 AM PDT by cincinnati65
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: ConservingFreedom

Infosys is the biggest importer of H1b and India tech workers into the USA.


13 posted on 09/15/2015 8:47:27 AM PDT by Zathras
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservingFreedom
I think we are headed for Civil War II. The American people are at war with the government and corporations. The corporation and government complex is Fascist in nature.

It is clear to me that the average US citizen is being brought to their knees by Fascism.

14 posted on 09/15/2015 8:53:28 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: ConservingFreedom

The free traders no longer are satisfied relocating factories to cheap labor, now they want to import those foreign workers here and simply fire the locals.


15 posted on 09/15/2015 9:00:33 AM PDT by DesertRhino (I was standing with a rifle, waiting for soviet paratroopers, but comSUrfmunists just ran for office)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: txrefugee
Great! So let’s replace our lazy, over-paid government hacks with Chinese bureaucrats, who would probably work long hours for less. The fewer Americans we employ in government, the better the efficiency will be.

I am not sure we really want a bureaucracy with "Chinese efficiency". As President Reagan said, "It's a good thing we don't get all the government we pay for."
16 posted on 09/15/2015 9:04:48 AM PDT by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: DesertRhino
The free traders no longer are satisfied relocating factories to cheap labor, now they want to import those foreign workers here and simply fire the locals.

It's the next logical step in their chewing up and spitting out America.

17 posted on 09/15/2015 9:15:42 AM PDT by ConservingFreedom (a "guest worker" is a stateless person with no ties to any community, only to his paymaster)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: ConservingFreedom
Start the rumor that some school districts are thinking about bringing in HB1 visas holders to replace teachers and help shrink the school budget.....

Then watch how the unions go after the politicians and companies who support that.

18 posted on 09/15/2015 9:20:12 AM PDT by dragonblustar (Philippians 2:10)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cincinnati65

Yup.


19 posted on 09/15/2015 9:21:13 AM PDT by Black Agnes
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: ConservingFreedom

Karma.
It’s what’s for dinner.


20 posted on 09/15/2015 9:47:24 AM PDT by MrEdd (Heck? Geewhiz Cripes, thats the place where people who don't believe in Gosh think they aint going.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-24 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson