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Stimulus Package Includes Tighter H-1B Restrictions
A provision requiring banks receiving federal bailout funds to hire U.S. workers over H-1B foreign workers was included in the economic stimulus bill that President Obama signed last February. Companies that receive funds under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) are prohibited from hiring H-1B workers for two years unless they comply with the rules set for "H-1B-dependent" employers.
Under these rules, employers must attest that they actively recruited U.S. workers and that they offered the position to any qualified U.S. workers. The employers must also attest that their placement of the H-1B worker did not and will not displace a U.S. worker in an essentially equivalent job 90 days before and after the filing of the H-1B petition. This includes positions at the employer's own worksite as well as at an outside worksite where the employer has placed an H-1B worker. The job posting must comply with industry-wide standards, and the compensation offered to U.S. workers must be at least as great as the compensation required to be offered to the H-1B worker.
Critics argue that while the H-1B provision may protect U.S. workers, it also restricts access to global talent that might be necessary to stimulate the American economy. |
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New Labor Secretary Hilda Solis Promises Heightened Enforcement of Labor Laws
President Barack Obama's choice for U.S. Secretary of Labor, Hilda Solis, reflects the administration's new approach to immigration control that focuses on enforcing labor laws and sanctioning employers who unlawfully hire undocumented workers. Solis became the new labor secretary after the Senate, following weeks of Republican delays, approved her nomination by an 80-17 vote on February 24. A daughter of a Mexican union shop steward and a Nicaraguan assembly line worker, Solis is highly backed by labor unions that claim workers rights and worker protection laws were overlooked during the eight-year Bush Administration. Declaring his support for Solis, AFL-CIO President John Sweeney stated, "Finally, Americans will have a secretary of labor who represents working people, not wealthy CEOs."
Last December, President Obama declared Solis, then-Democratic member of the U.S. House from California, as his pick to lead the Department of Labor. At her confirmation hearing in January, Solis stated that requiring employers to comply with workplace health and safety laws and strengthening wage and hour standards are effective ways to protect all workers and keep employers from hiring undocumented workers. Solis has a track record of endorsing workplace rights for all employees, regardless of their immigrant status. She believes labor laws must be extended to all workers, including undocumented immigrants, or protection would be weakened for all workers. Solis' position is in line with President Obama's plan to crack down on employers who exploit undocumented workers and reduce federal immigration raids that he termed as divisive and ineffective.
Under the Bush Administration, worksite enforcement focused on sweeping raids that mostly affected undocumented workers instead of their employers. Meanwhile, the Obama Administration promises to place greater emphasis on labor standard compliance and labor law enforcement. The rationale is that this approach will keep wages and working conditions above standard and force employers to hire only authorized workers.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other critics argue that the use of labor laws to solve illegal immigration issues will not work because it is too blunt an instrument. Others note that although raids are just "for show," some parts of the previous administration's policies like the Employment Eligibility Verification Program (E-Verify) are effective.
To address illegal immigration issues in the workplace, the Obama Administration is expected to employ a combination of retaining previous policies, such as E-Verify and workplace raids, and establishing a new emphasis on labor law enforcement that mostly targets employers instead of undocumented workers.
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Stimulus Package Leaves Out E-Verify Requirement
House and Senate negotiators dropped a significant E-Verify provision from the $787 billion economic stimulus bill that President Obama signed last February. The provision would have required all employers receiving stimulus money to use the government's online E-Verify system to check their workers' employment status. The stimulus package also did not include a separate provision that would have extended E-Verify beyond March 6, 2009, when the program is set to expire.
Supporters of E-Verify were upset that the provision did not survive. Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, noted that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Social Security Administration (SSA) "have the hardware and the software capacity to screen all new hires." Rep. Ken Calvert, R-California, also argued on the House floor, "There is no assurance that the jobs created will go to American workers." He added that E-Verify was "stripped out of the bill without discussion or debate."
Meanwhile, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other employer groups, who believe E-Verify is inaccurate and inefficient, are pleased with the outcome. They say E-Verify does not detect identity theft, fails to effectively root out undocumented workers, harms authorized workers who are affected by database errors, and forces American businesses to bear the costs of the program. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims that a federal rule that would have similarly expanded E-Verify would result in net societal costs of $10 billion a year.
Although E-Verify was dropped from the stimulus package, experts predict it will continue beyond March 6. President Obama has expressed support for the program and Congress might find a way to retain it for the purpose of addressing illegal immigration issues. | |
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