US companies that lay off large numbers of workers shouldn't be allowed to hire workers with H1B visas if they're planning a large layoff that will reduce their total number of US workers, according to two senators. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have introduced an amendment to the Senate's immigration reform bill that would not only restrict H-1B hires from companies that have had "mass layoffs" within the last year but would also require companies that are planning to announce mass layoffs to cut their foreign workers as well. If the company has already received approval to hire new H-1B workers but plans to make layoffs soon, it must inform the foreign workers that their visas will expire within 60 days.The purpose of the bill is to ensure that US companies are not exploiting the H-1B system by essentially replacing US workers with cheaper foreign talent. The amendment currently defines "mass layoffs" as a company with more than 100 employees letting go of 50 or more workers, but it offers an exemption for companies that provide written certification that the company's total number of employees in the US won't be reduced as a result of the layoff.
Under that definition of mass layoffs, a number of prominent US companies—ones that have applied for thousands of H-1B visas between them—could be under scrutiny. IBM, Motorola, and Dell are all companies that have either recently cut or plan to cut thousands of workers in the US. "If there is truly a shortage of workers in the US why would some of the largest high-tech companies layoff thousands of American workers?" asked Sanders and Grassley in a statement seen by Computerworld.
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