{"id":23897,"date":"2020-11-24T09:10:46","date_gmt":"2020-11-24T14:10:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/?p=23897"},"modified":"2020-11-24T09:10:48","modified_gmt":"2020-11-24T14:10:48","slug":"ig-finds-foreign-worker-program-fraud-immigrationreform-com","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2020\/11\/24\/ig-finds-foreign-worker-program-fraud-immigrationreform-com\/","title":{"rendered":"Labor Dept. IG: Foreign Worker Programs Still Susceptible To Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The internal watchdog at the Department of Labor (DOL) released a report<\/a> last week which shows how an \u201caggregation of known vulnerabilities\u201d in 4 of 6 programs used to hire foreign workers leave them \u201chighly susceptible to fraud.\u201d In its review of more than 15 years of audits and investigative work, the DOL\u2019s Office of Inspector General (OIG) presented a sobering look at ongoing abuses and the betrayal of the American worker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2003, the DOL OIG issued a \u201cwhite paper\u201d<\/a> that rang the first alarm bells about how foreign labor certification programs were open to abuse. The new report is a review of audits and other investigative work conducted since then and determined that the permanent labor certification (PERM), and three temporary foreign worker programs \u2013 the H-1B, H-2A and H-2B \u2013 all remain open to fraud and abuse. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In \u201cOverview of Vulnerabilities and Challenges in Foreign\nLabor Certification Programs,\u201d the OIG lays out how inefficiencies, poor\nmanagement and outdated regulations give latitude to employers to violate the programs\u2019\nrequirements. The report stated that the four programs all \u201cface a number of\nchallenges and vulnerabilities\u201d but made note of two of the four. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OIG called attention the unconscionable fact that with\nregard to H-1B workers, DOL \u201ccan only deny incomplete and obviously inaccurate\napplications and conduct complaint-based investigations, challenges in\nprotecting the welfare of the nation\u2019s workforce.\u201d Then there is the PERM\nprogram, which the report stated \u201crelentlessly has employers not complying with\nthe qualifying criteria.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to willful violations by employers, such as paying\nworkers less than the established wage rate or not employing a worker in the\njob for which they were approved, some vulnerabilities are a result of pure\ngovernment incompetence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, prior to filing an application for a foreign worker with the DOL\u2019s Employment and Training Administration (ETA), an employer is required to put an advertisement in a newspaper on two different Sundays to inform Americans of the work opportunity. In today\u2019s LinkedIn world and online recruiting, can a weekly newspaper ad really be considered an honest attempt to find native-born labor? No, and it is a sign of what the OIG called the PERM program\u2019s<\/a> \u201coutdated\u201d regulations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, the report added that a majority of its\napplications are reviewed \u201cwithout any supporting documentation\u201d and that as\nlong as \u201cemployers are not complying with the qualifying criteria or conditions\nof employment, the PERM program still remains highly susceptible to fraud.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the last year, the DOL has addressed some of the\nongoing concerns about foreign labor programs by increasing worksite\nenforcement efforts and has used the regulatory process to strengthen worker\nprotections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DOL\u2019s Wage and Hour Division has been more aggressive in holding employers accountable for violating program requirements. Last Friday, for example, it was announced<\/a> that a Mississippi fish farm had to pay $30,963 in back wages to 38 employees after they were found to have violated requirements of the H-2A visa program, which brings in temporary agricultural foreign labor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But identifying cases of fraud is not enough if there is no accountability. The OIG called<\/a> upon the Department last month to increase its exclusion of \u201cunscrupulous employers\u201d in order to \u201censure the full protection of U.S. and foreign workers and employers who followed laws and regulations and hold violators accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more than 15 years, deeply-flawed foreign labor programs have allowed workers to be exploited and law-abiding businesses to be cheated. The \u201ccures\u201d have not made the system healthier and may have even worsened the disease. The incoming Biden administration and members of Congress must seriously consider whether the best interests of American workers are served by these fraud-ridden programs. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The internal watchdog at the Department of Labor (DOL) released a report last week which shows how an \u201caggregation of known vulnerabilities\u201d in 4 of 6 programs used to hire foreign workers leave them \u201chighly susceptible to fraud.\u201d In its review of more than 15 years of audits and investigative work, the DOL\u2019s Office of<\/p>\n

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