A U.S.-based IT staffing company has been asked to pay over $3,00,000 to 12 employees holding H-1B visas for paying them far below their salary. Also, a penalty of $45,000 has been imposed on the firm or violating the labour provisions.
The U.S. Department of Labour Wage and Hour Division (WHD) during an investigation found the Redmond-based company, People Tech Group Inc, which has offices in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, violated the labour provisions of the H-1B visa programme by paying its guest workers far below the required wages, a media release said on Thursday.
Investigators found that the company paid entry-level wages to H-1B computer analysts and computer programmers, who performed the work of much more experienced employees and should have received higher prevailing rates, the Department of Labour said.
The People Tech Group also failed to pay workers for the time when it did not provide them work, as the law requires, the Department said.
The Wage and Hour Division has listed nearly 30 companies as wilful violator employers under the H-1B programme. As per the list maintained since 2013, a majority of wilful violators are Indian Americans or companies owned by them.
At least 10 companies, which includes eight wilful violators, have been debarred or disqualified from hiring foreign guest workers on H-1B visas.
