Obama Administration Increases Employer Investigations 
Posted Mar 01, 2009
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The new administration under President Barack Obama supports cracking down on employers believed to be exploiting immigrants. This point of view is shared by U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, who was confirmed just last week. The San Francisco Chronicle addressed this topic in a February 4, 2009 article, Obama's Labor Secretary Pick Backs Enforcement. Regular MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers may recall a discussion of this in our NewsBrief entitled, President Obama and U.S. Immigration Policy (02 Jan 2009).
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Investigations Focus on Employers and DOL Violations
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Under the previous administration, workplace immigration enforcement was increased using large-scale raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). While there were often significant consequences for employers, the targets generally were undocumented workers and their employers. The new focus is on employers who utilize, but do not comply with, various temporary worker programs. These workers are in the U.S. legally, but their employers are not complying with program requirements. Many of these requirements are intended to protect U.S. workers. Based on President Obama's statements, and his choice of Hilda Solis as Secretary of the DOL, it therefore is expected that future workplace investigations will focus more violations of DOL issues, such as requirements related to the H1B and H2B programs, as well as other matters that are within DOL's purview. This policy seems to be in place, with recent criminal charges arising out of alleged H1B labor condition application (LCA) violations, as well as labor certification filing issues discussed in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) public announcement, covered our February 27, 2009 MurthyBulletin article, Arrests of H1B Employers Increases.
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DOL to Focus on Health & Safety, Wage & Hour Standards
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At a confirmation hearing in January 2009, then Nominee DOL Secretary Solis promised to protect workers, both U.S. and foreign, by strengthening compliance with workplace health and safety laws, as well as wage and hour standards. As reported January 30, 2009 in our article entitled, Company and Owner Both Liable for H1B Back Wages, the DOL's Wage & Hour Division (WHD) is responsible for investigating claims of underpayment or nonpayment of wages, including claims of LCA violations by H1B employers.
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Increased Efforts to Protect Wage Levels
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The Obama Administration views wage and hour investigations as a way meant to protect the wage levels paid to U.S. workers, and to protect the foreign nationals who are legally employed by U.S. employers. Prior to her confirmation, Ms. Solis already had a history of supporting workplace rights for all workers, regardless of their status as U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, or as temporary workers.
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Conclusion
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Many MurthyDotCom and MurthyBulletin readers are either employers of foreign nationals or employment-sponsored foreign nationals. Everyone, particularly employers, need to be aware of program compliance issues, as the enforcement focus has clearly shifted. We at the Murthy Law Firm will continue to track changes to the U.S. government's labor and immigration policies and workplace enforcement, and will update our readers on any significant changes. Employers who have concerns regarding compliance should contact our office to schedule a consultation with one of our attorneys.