IWS Documented News INTERNATIONAL

IWS Documented News Service
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Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
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H-1B ADVISOR unveiled in ELAWS by DOL [13 May 2010]

http://www.dol.gov/elaws/h1b.htm

 

[Click on 'CONTINUE' button in lower left corner to find essential information]

 

News Release

OASP News Release: [05/13/2010]

Contact Name: Lina Garcia

Phone Number: (202) 693-4661

Release Number: 10-0563-NAT

 

US Labor Department unveils new tool to help employees and small businesses understand foreign worker certification

Online advisor clarifies rights and responsibilities under H-1B visa program

http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/asp/oasp20100563.htm

 

 

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Labor today unveiled a new tool to help employers and others understand how to comply with requirements under the H-1B visa program, which allows for the temporary employment of foreign workers in the U.S. in certain specialty occupations.

 

An online "advisor," available at http://www.dol.gov/elaws/h1b.htm , describes the program's standards and provides detailed information about employers' and workers' rights and responsibilities. It outlines notification requirements, monetary issues, worksite issues, recordkeeping, worker protections and enforcement.

 

"The Labor Department's goal is to provide employers and the public with user-friendly information regarding both rights and responsibilities under the H-1B program," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "The new online advisor harnesses technology to help take the mystery out of the new rules, and it offers an important resource to workers and employers alike."

 

The H-1B nonimmigrant visa classification was created under the Immigration and Nationality Act to help employers who cannot obtain needed skills and abilities from the U.S. workforce by authorizing the employment of qualified individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the U.S. The act establishes certain standards to protect similarly employed U.S. workers from being adversely affected by the employment of foreign workers under the H-1B program, as well as to protect H-1B workers themselves.

 

Responsibilities for the H-1B visa program are shared among the Labor Department's Office of Foreign Labor Certification and the department's Wage and Hour Division, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service and the U.S. Department of State. The new advisor tool focuses solely on compliance with the requirements enforced by the Wage and Hour Division. The tool does not review the process for participating in the program or for invoking H-1B visa portability.

 

The H-1B Advisor is one of a series of Employment Laws Assistance for Workers and Small Businesses, or "elaws," advisors developed by the Labor Department's Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, working with other department agencies, to help employers and employees understand federal employment laws. To access the set of advisors, visit the elaws website at http://www.dol.gov/elaws/. To learn more about the Labor Department's role in administering the Immigration and Nationality Act and the H-1B visa program, visit the department's Office of Foreign Labor Certification website at http://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov and its Wage and Hour Division site at http://www.dol.gov/whd/

 

 

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This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

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Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
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