The Houston Chronicle this week revealed the extent to which H-2B visas are being used in Texas and detailed the ways the Texas State Building and Construction Trades Council (TXBCTC) has been fighting against them on behalf of the region’s workers.  H-2B visas are granted to temporary foreign workers in cases when there are [&hellip…;

  The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) has fined Joseph Kehrer nearly $1.8 million for exposing foreign workers to asbestos without proper training, equipment, or instruction.  Keher is the owner of Kehrer Brothers Construction and a Kehrer-affiliated company, D7 Roofing, which hired the workers from Mexico to perform…

  Two conservatives on the Senate Judiciary Committee have developed an unlikely kinship with unions through their support for capping the number of H-1B visas available to U.S. employers.  GOP Sens. Charles Grassley of Iowa and Jeff Sessions of Alabama both serve on the committee; Grassley is the chairman and Sessions heads the subcommittee…

  A surprising and disconcerting change in data policy will make determining how H-1B visas affect American workers and the economy much more difficult. Data relating to the visas will now be destroyed after five years.  The change in policy was approved last year by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) but went largely…

  There’s something happening here. And what it is, is…kind of becoming exactly clear. For the past few years, Canadian and American labor organizations from industries including construction have denied claims that a labor shortage exists in their respective countries. Therefore, they do not see a need for foreign workers to be…

  The Third District Court of Appeals handed American workers a victory with their ruling in the case of Louisiana Forestry Association v. Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor.  The court found that the Department of Labor’s  wage regulation methodology is valid pertaining to H-2b visas, meaning the Department of Homeland Security must…

  A $34 million settlement between the U.S. Justice Department and India-based consulting and outsourcing company Infosys is putting the issue of H-1B visa abuse back into the spotlight.  The record fine was levied against the company’s Plano,TX location.   Between 2010 and 2012 Infosys received 6,550 H-1B visas, the fourth highest…

  The current Immigration Bill before the Senate would nearly double the number of H-1B visas that American companies could use to bring in temporary foreign workers in industries experiencing a “skills shortage.”  However, new research shows that the shortage of qualified applicants is a myth and that foreign workers are not necessary…

  A class action lawsuit is being brought forward by over 200 workers who allege they were victims of labor law and visa abuses while employed by carnival operator Fiesta Shows.   The workers, working under H-2B visas, say they were paid a weekly flat wage for 40 hours of work while logging closer to [&hellip…;

  New numbers provided by the latest United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll suggest that Americans want immigrants with skills, just not high-tech skills. The interesting numbers show that Americans support immigration for agricultural work, but not for sectors in which the most help is needed. As Congress…

  In a recent interview with Dylan Matthews of The Washington Post, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (D) described attempts for comprehensive immigration reform as “a massive effort to attract cheap labor.”  The immigration supporter takes exception to amendments offered by Senator Orrin Hatch that would alter guest worker program guidelines….