January 18, 2013 · 7:30 am

Indianapolis News Station Report About Our H-1B Worker Class Action Versus Access Therapies

An Indianapolis TV station, ABC-affiliate RTV6, recently released a published news report and video about a case the attorney-authors are working on, Panwar et. al. v. Access Therapies et. al.

This federal class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of a proposed class of H-1B workers against Access Therapies, Inc., RN Staff Inc. d/b/a Rehability Care, and an associated representative of the companies. The lawsuit alleges that Access Therapies and related entities systematically “bench” and underpay H-1B workers as part of a scheme that violates civil laws including forced labor laws, wage laws, contract law, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

The RTV6 news report discusses the case, and interviews various attorneys about the case and Access Therapies.

The attorney-authors Michael Brown and Vonda Vandaveer are among the attorneys representing the H-1B worker who filed the lawsuit, along with attorney Daniel Kotchen and Kotchen & Low LLP.

Please contact attorney Michael Brown at 920-757-2488 if you have any information or questions about the case.

You can also link here to review more information about the Access Therapies case and the latest Complaint, which details the case allegations about H-1B workers being underpaid and mistreated.

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December 13, 2012 · 4:57 pm

J-1 Workers Have Rights Too; Students Awarded Back Pay After Filing Claims of Abusive Conditions

Exploitation of J-visa workers has popped up in the news again, with the Department of Labor reaching a settlement with three companies to pay $213,000 in back wages to foreign students who were hired for summer work in Pennsylvania at a Hershey’s Chocolate packing plant.

The settlement resolves claims against the three companies for their respective roles in recruiting and employing 1,028 foreign students who were participating in the State Department’s J-1 Summer Work Travel program, which is designed to promote educational and cultural exchange.

The three companies are: The Council for Educational Travel-USA (CETUSA), which acted as the students’ sponsor in the program, Excel, Inc., which operated the Hershey’s packing plant where the students worked, and The SHS Group, LP, which hired and placed the students at the Excel work site. Hershey was not a named defendant in the claims.

The companies’ violations first made headlines in 2011 when the J-1 student workers held a strike at the packing plant, alleging they were working in harsh conditions, such as heavy lifting and having pay dedutions that left them with less than the minimum wage for living.

The department’s Wage and Hour Division investigation found violations of the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) as a result of excessive housing costs charged to the foreign students employed at the Palmyra facility, which reduced their hourly wages below the amount they were required to be paid under the FLSA.

Excel also was fined $143,000 for violations of safety and health violations in connection with the foreign employees’ working conditions, including excessive noise levels, and DOL assessed an additional civil money penalty against SHS for repeat violations of the Federal Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Earlier this year, DOS debarred CETUSA from participating in the J program for two years for the violations and revised J-1 program rules to add additional protections for student guestworkers.

The Department of Labor has issued a detailed press release on the case here: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/osha/OSHA20122169.htm#.UKPmReOe9mg

The case was pursued by the National Guestworker Alliance. http://www.guestworkeralliance.org/tag/j-1-visa/

J-1 Workers Susceptible to Fraud and Exploitation

While the media abounds with stories about H-1B fraud, the employer violations occurring within the J-1 program are not as well publicized and perhaps not as well reported. J-1 workers are just as susceptible as H-1B employees to becoming victims of fraud due to their dependence on their sponsor to work and their lack of knowledge about their legal rights.

If you are a J-1 worker and are being underpaid, you may be eligible to pursue claims against your employer. You should seek competent legal advice promptly to avoid losing your legal rights and missing any filing deadlines.

For more information about legal services the law firms DVG Law Partner and VK Vandaveer PLLC offer to foreign workers, including J-1 employees, see our page here or contact us at mbrown@dvglawpartner.com or vonda@vkvlaw.com.

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November 14, 2012 · 7:26 am

Contract Case of Atty. Michael Brown Named by Wisconsin Lawyer to “Top 12” Wisconsin Supreme Court Decisions Last Term

The November 2012 issue of Wisconsin Lawyer magazine has an article titled “Top 12 2011-12 Wisconsin Supreme Court Decisions,” and it lists as number 5 the case of Kroner v. Oneida Seven Generations Corporation.

The plaintiff John Kroner was represented by myself, blog author (attorney) Michael Brown.

Mr. Kroner was formerly the CEO of the defendant Oneida Seven Generations Corporation (OSGC), a corporation affiliated with the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin.  Mr. Kroner alleged he had years of good performance with OSGC and was discharged without notice or a good reason.  He further alleged he had a contract-law right, under Wisconsin law, that his employment with OSGC was such he could only have been discharged for “cause.”  (In contrast, many employers have “at-will” employment, where an employer does not need “cause” or a fair reason to terminate an employee’s employment).

Mr. Kroner asserted, to the Brown County Circuit Court, that he should have a trial in that Court to determine whether OSGC’s termination of his employment violated Wisconsin law.  OSGC attempted twice to have the Brown County Court drop the case, for reasons relating to OSGC’s tribal affiliation.  First, OSGC filed a motion to dismiss the case, based in large part on an argument that sovereign immunity applied and that the Oneida tribal forum had exclusive jurisdiction over the parties’ dispute.  That motion was denied by the Brown County Court.

OSGC also filed a motion seeking to transfer the case to the Oneida tribal forum, pursuant to a Wisconsin law allowing tribal transfer in certain situations.  The Brown County Court granted the motion, and the case was to be transferred to the tribal forum.  However, Mr. Kroner appealed.  The Wisconsin Court of Appeals agreed with the first Court’s decision, and upheld the transfer.  Mr. Kroner appealed again to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court found in Mr. Kroner’s favor (per its decision here), holding that tribal transfer was not permissible under the circumstances.  Mr. Kroner had argued that the fair decision was that his case be allowed to continue in the Wisconsin courts, based on issues of time and resources, procedure, the availability of fundamental Wisconsin-law rights, and other factors.  Some of the details are discussed at the Wisconsin Lawyer article above, which provides a helpful analysis of the case.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court agreed with Mr. Kroner that OSGC had not established legal grounds to transfer the case, overturned the tribal transfer decision, and remanded the case back to the Brown County Court to proceed there.

The case is set for a jury trial in the Brown County Circuit Court starting April 22, 2013.

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November 13, 2012 · 6:53 am

New Complaint Filed in Our H-1B Underpaid-Worker Class Action Against Access Therapies, RN Staff Inc. d/b/a Rehability Care

The attorney-author of this blog, Michael Brown, and co-counsel colleagues have represented underpaid H-1B workers with a number of legal cases across the U.S., including a class action case pending in the Southern District of Indiana federal court.

This federal class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of a proposed class of H-1B workers against Access Therapies, Inc., RN Staff Inc. d/b/a Rehability Care, and an associated representative of the companies. The lawsuit alleges that Access Therapies and related entities systematically “bench” and underpay H-1B workers (and force workers to pay visa fees) as part of a scheme that violates civil laws including wage laws, contract law, and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

The attorney-author Michael Brown, along with Vonda Vandaveer, Daniel Kotchen and Kotchen & Low LLP, are among the attorneys representing the H-1B worker who filed the lawsuit.

Please contact attorney Michael Brown at 920-757-2488 if you have any information or questions about the case.

Scroll below if you’d like to review the latest Complaint, which details the case allegations about H-1B workers being underpaid and mistreated:

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November 13, 2012 · 12:12 am

Take Justice Back: A New Website Regarding Rights of Individuals Harmed By Corporations

Today, the American Association for Justice, a lawyers’ group, launched a new website called Take Justice Back.  The website seeks to inform everyday Americans about the civil justice system, and why they should care about protecting that system, and protecting the rights of individuals harmed by corporations.

The American Association for Justice describes the new website as follows:

Take Justice Back will:• EDUCATE people on how their rights are being threatened;

• MOTIVATE Americans by sharing real stories of people denied justice;

• ENGAGE consumers through social media such as blogs, Facebook, and Twitter; and

• EMPOWER activism by creating a portal where people can share information, send letters to members of Congress, sign petitions, and link through to their own blogs

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September 17, 2012 · 9:40 am

Texas Farm Accused of Discriminating Against US Citizen Job Applicants in Favor of H-2A Foreign Workers

A Texas farm has been accused of discriminating against U.S. citizen workers, and instead favoring foreign workers hired under the H-2A temporary worker visa program.

In June 2010, a U.S. citizen with more than 12 years of experience in the agricultural industry said in a complaint that he had applied for a job as a cotton picker operator at Estopy Farms, of McAllen, Texas. He was rejected, but during the same period, Estopy Farms hired a number of seasonal foreign workers under the H-2A program. The U.S. citizen claims he was rejected because of his citizenship.

Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid Office filed a lawsuit with the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO) within the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review on behalf of this applicant along, with another U.S. citizen. The lawsuit alleges violations of H-2A program rules, which require employers to certify that they have actively tried to recruit U.S. workers and that the hiring of foreign workers is not adversely affecting the working conditions of similarly employed U.S. citizen workers.

The Department of Justice also has filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit in conjunction with its role of enforcing the INA’s anti-discrimination provisions. The DOJ pursues employers accused of discriminatory hiring practices.

Employer discrimination is wrong in the U.S., whether it’s discrimination against foreign workers or against U.S. citizen workers. For more information about the legal services we offer workers who have experienced discrimination, please email the attorneys at mbrown@dvglawpartner.com or vonda@vkvlaw.com.

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July 6, 2012 · 7:46 am

H-1B End Clients With Blind Eyes?

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united states currency eye- IMG_7364_web (Photo credit: kevindean)

The attorney-authors have represented many H-1B workers, some of whom have done project work for some of the biggest companies in the U.S.  Some things that seem remarkable to us: (1) the epidemic of H-1B workers across the country who are underpaid or not paid during benched time and are not paid, underpaid or have delayed payment, even during project time; (2) the fact that this epidemic of H-1B underpayment is well-known in large social circles, including H-1B sponsor employers themselves, immigration attorneys, etc.; (3) the fact that many large U.S.-based corporations themselves sponsor H-1B workers (whom they usually pay their full required wages), BUT the same large employers often employ, as independent consultants for project work, H-1B consultants whose H-1B visas are sponsored by other, smaller, body-shop employers who systematically underpay the workers and violate H-1B laws per their business models and systemic practices.

Our question: don’t these large end-clients (at least some of them) know that their project consultants are sponsored by H-1B-bodyshops who underpay and mistreat the workers?

It seems implausible that so many large U.S. corporations use bodyshop H-1B consultants, but are not aware that these same workers are often victims of exploitation by their sponsor employers.  Are big companies turning a blind eye, and knowingly accepting the benefits of H-1B bodyshops’ dirty work?  We’d be curious for our readers’ thoughts on this issue.

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June 25, 2012 · 12:41 pm

Assumptions Kill the Cat (At Least in the Workplace)

In the workplace, curiosity does NOT, as they say, “kill the cat.”  To the contrary, if you are in a workplace dispute, curiosity is a GOOD thing.  Curiosity will cause you– before you take action– to take time to pause, gather more information, learn what is truly going on, and hopefully learn from credible sources what options you truly have.  These are good things.  Curiosity is a good instinct to have when you are in a risky situation, like a workplace dispute, and you don’t know the full ramifications of what’s going on.

Unfortunately, when I encounter workers who had had workplace disputes, and who are seeking my legal advice as a result of those disputes, all too often those workers had not had enough curiosity back while they were interacting with the employer.  That is, many workers who get into workplace disputes make assumptions and act on those assumptions.  Worse, those assumptions usually turn out to be wrong, and in fact harmful– with workers commonly losing their jobs, their unemployment benefits, their legal claims, etc.– in part or in whole due to those assumptions.

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June 25, 2012 · 7:31 am

H-1B Body Shop Ordered To Pay More Than $740,000 in Back Wages

An H-1B IT body shop in Georgia was ordered to pay $741,288 in back wages to 73 employees who were unlawfully benched or required to pay visa and application processing fees.

The Department of Labor ordered Semafor Technologies LLC in Norcross to pay the back wages following an investigation into allegations of its unlawful practices. In addition to imposing back wage payments, DOL also has required the company to implement new payroll and time-keeping procedures to ensure future compliance with the H-1B program.

The company specializes in software development, on-site/off-site application outsourcing, infrastructure, consulting and product development services.

The DOL press release on the order is available here:

http://www.dol.gov/whd/media/press/whdpressVB2print.asp?pressdoc=Southeast/20120612.xml

If you have been unpaid or benched by your employer, you may have claims. You can learn more about your rights by talking to a competent attorney.

For more information about the legal services we offer H-1B workers, see our page here.

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June 20, 2012 · 4:56 pm

Does Your H-1B Wage Loss Situation Have the Makings of a Class Action?

If you are an H-1B worker who has been underpaid or otherwise mistreated by an H-1B employer, you may be able bring your claims not only on your own behalf, but also on behalf of a class of similarly situated individuals.  The attorney-authors of this blog, along with our attorney colleagues at the excellent class-action law firm Kotchen & Low, have litigated proposed class-action cases (as well as single-worker actions), in a variety of legal forums.  When H-1B workers’ situations do in fact support class-action treatment of their claims, their lawsuit can be very strong.

This article describes various factors that support class treatment of H-1B workers’ claims, the nature of such class claims and forums they can be brought in.  If you are an H-1B worker who is curious whether your situation could support a class-action case, this article will give some general educational information and food for thought.

Please note that only a competent attorney can adequately evaluate whether a valid class action would exist for your situation or should be pursued.  So if you want legal advice about whether your own situation can be pursued as a class action, please consult with a competent attorney (if you’d like, you can have a free initial consultation with us, or with another attorney of your choice).

This article will first discuss some factors that could potentially support an H-1B class action.

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