Washington — If you thought the kinds of jobs where immigrant workers were subject to wage theft were along the lines of car washing, farm labor and food service, think again.
A study issued Dec. 9 by the Economic Policy Institute shows that even in the tech sector, immigrants are paid less than their U.S. counterparts, though federal law says that's not supposed to happen.
The practice has a domino effect. The law says immigrant labor is meant only to augment, not replace, American workers. But because the multinational companies that bring over tech-skilled immigrant workers have been getting away with paying them less, U.S. workers making more get pink-slipped. The lower wages then set a new, lower bar for work in the sector.
"We estimate that HCL (one firm that specializes in bringing in immigrant tech workers) is saving at least $95 million per year by illegally underpaying its H-1B employees," said the study, noting the kind of immigrant visa used in the tech sector. "That's $95 million in stolen wages from H-1B workers every year — white-collar wage theft on a grand scale — which has been facilitated by negligent labor standards enforcement in the H-1B program."
You may not have heard of HCL. "HCL is not a small outsourcing firm. It is India's third-largest IT outsourcing firm, generating 63% of its $11 billion in revenue in the United States," said the 34-page study. "New Evidence of Widespread Wage Theft in the H-1B Visa Program."
The Economic Policy Institute...
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