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Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) have introduced legislation that would prevent large companies that conduct mass layoffs from hiring foreign labor through guest worker programs. The Employ America Act (S. 2804) (pdf) builds on similar prohibitions included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA or “Economic Stimulus”), which prevents companies receiving funds through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) from replacing laid-off citizen workers with foreign labor. Continue reading about this development on Littler's Washington D.C. Employment Law Update blog.
 

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Som Mittal, president of Nasscom, the industry association representing Indian software and IT services firms, recently met in Washington, D.C. with various U.S. government officials and representatives of trade organizations. In an interview with InformationWeek, Mittal stated that he was in D.C. "to provide perspective on the Durbin-Grassley bill," bipartisan legislation aimed at preventing abuse and fraud in the H-1B and L-1 visa programs. Based on his meetings, Mittal said he thinks that the Obama administration and Congress are likely to consider H-1B and L-1 provisions as part of broader immigration reforms, perhaps later this year.

Mittal also noted that, from his perspective, the H-1B and L-1 visa programs should be considered matters of trade policy rather than immigration, stating: “Our data shows that [H-1B visa holders] stay in the U.S. less than two years.” He further commented:

Other countries, including the U.K., France, Germany, Japan, and India provide work permits to bring in foreign workers temporarily. It's not about immigration, it's about trade.

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Last week Assistant Senate Majority Leader Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced legislation that would completely reform the H-1B and L-1 visa guest worker programs. The H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act (S. 887) aims to close perceived loopholes in the programs that critics argue allow foreign workers to displace qualified Americans seeking the same employment.  Continue reading this entry on Littler's Washington DC Employment Law Update blog.

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