Photo by: Andia/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
On the Clock is Motherboard's reporting on the organized labor movement, gig work, automation, and the future of work.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
The report’s authors write that alleged violations at HCL are likely evidence of “widespread wage theft” among outsourcing firms that rely on H-1B visas in the United States. “HCL did not invent nor pioneer the exploitation of the H-1B program,” the report’s authors write. “Its exploitation of the H-1B program is standard industry practice, not an outlier.” The report’s authors say that the Department of Labor has done very little to enforce the laws of the “actual wage” requirement—and relies entirely on H-1B visa workers to blow the whistle on their employers. But few workers have done so because they depend on their employers for their H-1B visas and to remain in the United States. “The ‘actual wage’ rule is half of the law, and the Department of Labor has done nothing to enforce it. There are no mechanisms in place to check that employers are following it,” said Costa. Google, Disney, FedEx, and the Department of Labor did not respond to a request for comment.Do you have a tip to share about H-1B visas? Please get in touch with the reporter Lauren Gurley via email: Lauren.gurley@vice.com or securely on Signal 201-897-2109.