Michigan H-1B fraud case -- Excel Electrocircuit

Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 11:21 PM

<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1645 -- 2/21/2007 >>>>>

More H-1B fraud to report but this time it's in Michigan. A company called
Excel Electrocircuit hired five H-1B engineers at prevailing salaries.
Seems legit - except for one thing -- the H-1Bs had to pay a monthly
kick-back to the company. Excel used this scheme to cook the books in order
to make it appear like they were paying a legal prevailing salary. Their
foreign workers took the hit by bringing home less pay than was reported to
the DOL. How much less and for how long is not clear.

Excel is being fined $10,500 and must pay $34,000 in back wages. In
addition to the fines Excel will be barred from the H-1B program for a
year.

The news release below hasn't been posted on the web yet so I called the
Chicago USDOL office to verify its authenticity and to ask a few other
questions. Their answers to my questions met my low expectations.

If the monetary penalty seems like on a slap on the wrist, consider the one
year ban. I asked the DOL if Excel would be barred from using contractors
that use H-1B and/or L-1 visa holders but they didn't know the answer! In
practical terms this means that Excel can't hire H-1Bs directly but they
can probably get away with using bodyshops like Tata and Infosys; that is
assuming they have to hire somebody within the next year. About the only
thing the one year sanction accomplishes is that it will prevent Excel from
ripping off their H-1Bs as much as the bodyshops.

Why doesn't the DOL require Excel to hire American citizens for a couple of
years?

The DOL wouldn't divulge how Excel got caught, but you can bet it was one
of their H-1Bs who got angry about being ripped off. It would be very out
of character for the DOL to act on a complaint from a U.S. citizen but they
never seem to hesitate to defend foreign workers who file complaints.

I used the database at H1B.info to look at some of Excel's LCAs. Most of
them are signed by Paresh Shah and Janak Patel. If there is poetic justice
to this story it is that Indians at Excel were ripping off Indian H-1Bs,
and the H-1Bs got their revenge.

It's worth mentioning that the DOL is no longer supplying us with the names
of the people who sign the LCA. They use privacy as the reason for the data
redaction but in reality it's just one more example how the Bush
administration is cloaking our government to hide the misdeeds of
bureaucrats and greedy businesses.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

News Release

U.S. Department of Labor For Immediate Release
Office of Public Affairs Feb. 14, 2007
Chicago, Ill . Contact: Brad Mitchell
Release Number 07-229-chi Phone: (312) 353-6976

U.S. Labor Department (DOL) releases are accessible on the Internet at
www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in
alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc)
from the COAST office. Please specify which news release when placing your
request. Call (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. DOL is committed to
providing America's employers and employees with easy access to
understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations.
For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.

Michigan Manufacturer to Pay $34,000 Back Wages and $10,500 Fine in
Immigration Case after U.S. Labor Department Investigation

Company Barred from H-1B Visa Program for One Year

DETROIT -- Excel Electrocircuit, Inc., a Lake Orion, Mich., manufacturer of
circuit boards used in automotive and other industries, has agreed to pay
$34,000 back wages to five non-immigrant workers and $10,500 in fines for
immigration law violations, the U.S. Labor Department announced today. The
company will also be barred from utilizing the H-1B visa program for at
least one year. The H-1B program provides for professional-level foreign
workers to be temporarily admitted to work in the United
States.

An investigation by the Labor Departments Wage and Hour Division found
that H-1B workers employed as engineers at Excel were required to kick back
part of their pay to the company and therefore did not receive the full
wages required under the H-1B program. The law requires that H-1B visa
holders always be paid in full at least the wage rate prevailing in the
local area for the particular occupation. The charges were settled in legal
proceedings confirmed by order of a U.S. Department of Labor Administrative
Law Judge (ALJ) on Dec. 22, 2006.

The ALJ order affirmed investigation findings that Excel substantially
failed to pay required wages, misrepresented material facts on H-1B
applications submitted to the Labor Department, required or accepted
payment by the workers of the fee incurred in filing an H-1B petitions,
failed to maintain required records, failed to cooperate and impeded the
Labor Department investigation.

Wage and Hour district director James Smith in Detroit said: "The H-1B
program helps meet the legitimate needs of U.S. employers, while at the
same time ensuring that employers gain no economic advantage by using
temporary foreign workers instead of U.S. workers. The Department of Labor
is committed to vigorously enforcing all H-1B requirements."

The H-1B visa program allows foreign workers in professional occupations
such as computer programmers, engineers, physicians, and teachers to enter
and work temporarily in the U.S. H-1B workers must be paid the same wage
rates and benefits as those paid to U.S. workers already doing the same job
in the same area. The Wage and Hour Division enforces the H-1B wage
provisions of the Immigrant and Nationality Act, in addition to other
federal laws pertaining to wage payments. The agencys Web site provides
detailed information about hiring foreign workers at
www.dol.gov/compliance/audience/foreign_workers.htm.

For more information please visit www.wagehour.dol.gov or call toll free at
1-866-4US-WAGE.
###

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.oalj.dol.gov/Decisions/ALJ/LCA/2005/WAGE_and_HOUR_DIVISI_v_EXCEL_ELECTROCIRCUIT_2005LCA00045_(DEC_22_2006)_074819_CADEC_SD.PDF

U.S. Department of Labor Office of Administrative Law Judges

800 K Street, NW, Suite 400-N
Washington, DC 20001-8002

(202) 693-7300

(202) 693-7365 (FAX)

Issue Date: 22 December 2006
CASE NO.: 2005-LCA-45
In the Matter of:
ADMINISTRATOR, WAGE AND HOUR DIVISION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR,
Prosecuting Party,
v.
EXCEL ELECTROCIRCUIT, INC.,
Respondent.

DECISION AND ORDER APPROVING SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT

This matter arises under the Labor Condition Application provisions of the
Immigration
and Nationality Act, as amended, 8 U.S.C. ' 1101 and ' 1182 (the Act),
and the implementing regulations set forth at 20 C.F.R. ' 655, et seq.

On December 15, 2006, the parties filed a Settlement Agreement and Consent
Findings signed by both parties. The parties agree that the Settlement
Agreement constitutes the full and complete settlement of all issues in the
above-captioned matter.

ORDER

Upon consideration of the record and the Settlement Agreement, I hereby
ORDER it
APPROVED in full. The Settlement Agreement shall constitute my findings of
fact and
conclusions of law and shall constitute full, final, and complete
adjudication of this proceeding.
SO ORDERED.
A
STEPHEN L. PURCELL
Administrative Law Judge
Washington, D.C.

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