US Dept. of Labor orders Md. school system to pay millions to mostly Filipino teachers

[mahatmakanejeeves]

This is over 12 hours old, so it can't be LBN.

US Dept. of Labor orders Md. school system to pay millions to mostly Filipino teachers

Sources: Associated Press, Washington Post, Washington Times, others

By Associated Press, Monday, April 4, 8:28 PM

WASHINGTON — The public school system in Maryland’s Prince George’s County has been ordered to repay $4 million to more than 1,000 foreign teachers it has hired, the result of an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The teachers, the vast majority from the Philippines, were hired under a visa program for foreign workers. But the Department of Labor found the teachers were illegally required to pay fees that should have been handled by their employer.

The department on Monday ordered that the teachers be reimbursed for $4.2 million in fees and fined the school system $1.7 million for its conduct. The school system may also be barred from hiring any more foreign teachers for at least two years.
....

According to the Department of Labor the affected teachers were hired between 2005 and 2010 under the H-1B temporary foreign worker visa program. Teachers paid various fees including filing fees for their visas of between $190 and $320 as well as immigration attorney fees of approximately $1,000 and placement fees of $3,500. Approximately 700 teachers paid a $500 anti-fraud filing fee. That money was ordered returned.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.

[pampango]

1. Gazette.net: "All employers, even school systems, are required to follow the law."

http://www.gazette.net/stories/04042011/prinnew174312_32568.php

"All employers, even school systems, are required to follow the law," said Nancy J. Leppink, acting administrator for the department's Wage and Hour division, in a department statement. "That includes a legal duty to pay every teacher hired the full wage he or she is owed."

For several years, county educators have sponsored hundreds of workers every year from the Philippines to teach in the county school system. The teachers often have years of education experience and are hired for their expertise teaching specialty subjects such as math and science.

Labor Department officials said the county illegally required their international teachers to pay the fees for their work visas when it was the school system's responsibility as their employer to pay the fees. The amount of lost wages equates to roughly $4,046 per teacher.

Federal law requires workers on H-1B visas to be paid the same wages and benefits as U.S. workers. Investigators said the school system was aware that it was not supposed to charge the workers for the fees. Labor Department officials said that the school system charged the fees "in reckless disregard for whether its actions were impermissible."

edited to add link

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. department statement

Prince George’s County Public Schools charged with violating provisions of H-1B temporary foreign worker program {04/04/2011}

[Angry Dragon]

2. Get rid of the H-1B visa program

[Posteritatis]

3. I like how the headline says "pay" and the facts of the article are "repay."

Gotta keep that xenophobia whipped up, though.

[MattBaggins]

5. $500 anti fraud fee

It doesn't get any funnier than that

[WatsonT]

6. Why are we importing teachers?

Are there no Americans who want the job?

[Blue_Tires]

7. Well, there goes the little bit of change the school system was saving by insourcing

P.G. is a mess...