If your H-1B employer (or former H-1B employer) underpaid your wages, you may be interested in complaining to the employer or pursuing legal action, but worried about what may happen to you. You may be worried that, if you complain about unpaid wages, you may lose your H-1B status, and be subject to deportation.
These are realistic concerns. Pursuing your legal rights indeed is a serious and delicate matter. You should thoroughly educate yourself on your legal rights and options before you take action or assume risks.
However, you should know that an underpaying H-1B employer has its own risks to worry about. The legal and financial consequences that an employer faces if found to have underpaid an H-1B employee’s wages could drive the employer out of business.
Rather than face the risks that result from a worker filing a legal complaint, fraudulent H-1B employers will often prefer to reach a settlement with an underpaid H-1B worker.
Fraudulent H-1B employers may well agree to a settlement that: (a) pays you your unpaid wages (and possibly more, given the possibility of legal penalty monies in addition to wages); (b) fixes any immigration-status problems (e.g. makes sure you receive valid payments and paystubs needed for H-1B transfer); and (c) agrees not to retaliate against you.
Below are 5 reasons why an underpaying H-1B employer should agree to such a settlement.
(Please note: This article is NOT advising you to demand settlement from your employer, to threaten your employer with legal action, or to take legal action. Before trying to negotiate a settlement or filing a legal complaint on your own, it is strongly advised that you talk to an attorney, such as an H-1B rights attorney and immigration attorney, about your own specific circumstances and legal options).
WI Employee Rights Lawyer: Severance, Wages, Job Termination, Discrimination 