Some workers not furloughed by federal law (H-1B's)

[OhioChick]

Although six mandatory furlough dates have been set for faculty and staff, some at the University will be exempt from taking time off without pay.

These workers fall under two broad categories - the first being workers making less than $23,660 annually, which includes graduate assistants and student workers, and the second being those in the U.S. on an H1B visa.

The H1B visa allows a U.S. company to employ a foreign individual for up to six years, and the application process is generally less time consuming than that for a Green Card.

"There is a three-way contract between the institution, the individual and the federal government," John Millsaps, Board of Regents spokesman, said Friday in a telephone interview. "The program brings over people from outside the country for special jobs. It can only be done after an employer has done an search and certified that no Americans are available for that particular job."

Millsaps said this is part of the reason professors with H1B visas will not be subject to the mandatory furloughs.

"Federal law says no one can be brought over under the H1B visa and be paid less than an American worker would be," Millsaps said.

This creates a sticky situation when it comes to furloughs. If a professor with an H1B visa is furloughed, their salary would drop lower than the contractual amount, which is against federal law.

Millsaps said the Regents could have initiated an application process to get around the contracts, but it would cost $320 in application fees per employee. The University has 270 employees under the H1B visa, which would cost $86,400 in application fees alone.

"The goal of the governor is to decrease cost," Millsaps said. "And with those workers, clearly we were not going to be able to decrease cost, so we chose ."

As for the other workers who won't be furloughed - those making $23,660 or less annually - Millsaps said that decision was simple.

"Clearly the reason for that is obvious. It's an ethical, moral and financial reason," he said. "These people are right at the poverty line. It would be much more of a financial hardship for them, for not as much savings."

More:http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2009/08/26/News/Some-Workers.Not.Furloughed.By.Federal.Law-3757202.shtml

Well, that's fucked up.

[ixion]

1. so H1-Bs get guaranteed employment

and the rest of us get the shaft? :wtf:

[OhioChick]

2. Yes.....fucked up, isn't it? n/t

[Skittles]

3. it gets worse

at my company, only American workers take paycuts

[Deja Q]

4. Equality my ass...

[blue97keet]

5. big lie

"It can only be done after an employer has done an search and certified that no Americans are available for that particular job." NOT TRUE

[pkdu]

6. From my own experince it is true (technically)

but a joke in reality.

Hiring Company must show the INS job-posting they posted "in the location where the work will be performed" for a period (I think 2 or 3 weeks) along with "certification that said job posting elicited "no qualified candidates"

1. Write qualifications/job description "very tightly"
2. Post it on notice board where the work is going to be performed - knowing full well it will not be read by anyone who is qualifed to fill it ...Duh , thats why the IT consulting form is contracted in the first place.
3. Zero qualified applicants apply.

Certify in full compliance with the law.

Lie?..no , Joke ?...unfunny and yes.