MLF Attorney Authors AILA Voice Article on Key Decision in H1B Case

Legal scholarship and day-to-day law practice are two sides of the same coin. Murthy Law Firm (MLF) attorneys pay close attention to both sides of that coin, a holistic view that sets them apart. They handle difficult cases with skill and creativity, borne of their abiding interest in the ongoing legal developments that shape their field. Adam Rosen is one such scholar-practitioner. A Member of the Murthy Law Firm and supervising attorney in our special projects department, Rosen often writes about immigration law and policy, for the benefit of the entire immigration bar and the clients they serve. His recent article, Greater Missouri: ‘Comply with LCA Program Rules,‘ appears in the May 2014 edition of AILA Voice, a publication of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), a leading professional organization for attorneys practicing immigration law.

The article discusses the implications of an Administrative Review Board (ARB) decision handed down in January – Administrator v. Greater Missouri Medical Pro-Care Providers, Inc. – a suit touched off by an H1B employee’s complaint to the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division. Among other things, the complaint alleged that the employer “failed to pay her the wages required under its labor condition application (LCA) for time off due to a decision by the employer,” in Rosen’s words. In the ensuing investigation, the DOL turned up several LCA violations against the complainant and other employees, and made Greater Missouri pay more than $382,000 in back wages to 45 H1B employees.

According to Rosen, the Greater Missouri case upholds the DOL’s broad authority to initiate wage-and-hour investigations, based on a single complaint by an H1B employee. Moreover, he cautions, “The ARB makes it clear that an investigation can include asking for evidence about other workers,” and it imposes the burden of proof on employers to show that they have complied with the law.

The message for employers, says Rosen: obey the rules of the LCA program, because the DOL has considerable authority to enforce them, and enforcement has been getting tighter in recent years. As a corollary, we might add: hire the most experienced legal counsel you can find, to keep you on the right side of the law in this complex regulatory environment – and if you want legal counsel that is wise and well informed, steeped in theory and tested in practice, consider the Murthy Law Firm. We would be pleased to assist you.

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