PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY SCHOOLS CHARGED WITH H-1B VIOLATIONS

According to a press release by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Maryland's Prince George's County Public Schools system was found a willful violator of the H-1B laws and regulations. DOL investigators found that PGCPS illegally reduced the wages of 1,044 foreign teachers hired under the H-1B program by requiring the payment of $4,224,146 in fees. Due to the willful nature of some of the violations, PGCPS has been assessed an additional $1,740,000 in civil money penalties and may be debarred from filing new petitions, requests for extensions or requests for permanent residency for foreign workers under any employment-based visa program. Violations are willful when an employer knew or acted in reckless disregard for whether its actions were impermissible under the law. We are not sure what types of fees the DOL found unlawful that were paid by the employees (whether worker retraining fee, USCIS filing fees or attorney fees) but due to the large amount at stake, litigation by PGCPS may be pursued... The DOL press release can be found here: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/whd/WHD20110357.htm