Indian IT giant HCL Technologies has been accused of underpaying wages to the H-1B visa holder employees by an American think tank. Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a global think tank that researches the impact of economic trends on working people in the United States, in a report said in the last few years HCL underpaid to the tune of $95 million (nearly Rs 700 crore) to H1-B visa holders compared to the other employees appointed in a similar manner. The report reached this conclusion analysing an internal document of HCL Technologies.
The report by EPI was released as part of a whistleblower lawsuit filed against the Indian IT firm.
The report claims that HCL paid US citizens 13 to 87 percent more than the H-1B holders in virtually all jobs across the line. "Thousands of skilled migrants with H-1B visas working as subcontractors at well-known corporations like Disney, FedEx, Google and others appear to have been underpaid by at least $95 million," claimed the EPI report by Daniel Costa and Ron Hira.
The H-1B programme is a temporary work visa that allows companies in the US to recruit college-educated migrant workers. The visa is used by Indian IT firms to computer engineers working in the US temporarily.
The report adds that the victims of this wage theft were not just limited to the H-1B visa holders but also US workers who were either displaced or whose working conditions and wages degrade when employers underpay skilled migrant workers with impunity.
HCL Technologies is among the top 10 recipients of the H-1B visas issued in the US. With 1,405 new visas and 2,801 visa renewal approvals, HCL was ranked eighth in total H-1B visa approvals in 2020. The company, since 2009, has received over 31,000 H-1B visa approvals from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The report accuses HCL of violating the H-1B visa law which restricts employers from underpaying the migrant workers or replacing the incumbent US workforce employed by the company.
The non-profit urged the US labour department to launch a wider investigation to fathom if companies are systematically underpaying the H-1B workforce in violation of the visa laws, and demanded heavier penalties for violations.
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