The US Department of Labor’s recent Interim Final Rule on wages related to H1-B visas has run into trouble with a lawsuit being filed against it in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on Monday.
Seventeen individuals and organisations, including universities and businesses, have filed a lawsuit alleging that the poorly-drafted and improperly-issued rule did not comply with the procedural rules for rule-making and is substantively arbitrary, incorrect and irrational.
Among those who have filed the lawsuit are Purdue University, University of Michigan, University of Denver, Chapman University, Bard College, International Institute of New England, Information Technology Industry Council, Arizona State University, Scripps College, Northern Arizona University, Indiana University, Study Mississippi, Dentists for America, Physicians for American Healthcare and Hodges Bonded Warehouse.
The Department of Labor had earlier this month published a rule to identify wage levels for H-1B visa holders and other foreign labour programmes. According to the White House this was aimed at improving the quality of H-1B workers and to better reflect wages paid to similarly employed workers in the US.
The new rule will limit an employer's ability to replace workers with cheap foreign labour and help ensure wages are not suppressed by the presence of low-cost foreign workers, the White House had said.
