澳彩开奖 denounces congressional vote blocking rule that protects U.S. workers鈥� wages
The 澳彩开奖 today criticized Congress for blocking a new regulation that would protect U.S. workers by allowing the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to regulate the wages paid to foreign laborers recruited into the U.S. through the federal H-2B guestworker program.
The 澳彩开奖 today criticized Congress for blocking a new regulation that would protect U.S. workers by allowing the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to regulate the wages paid to foreign laborers recruited into the U.S. through the federal H-2B guestworker program.
鈥淲e鈥檙e disappointed that our nation鈥檚 lawmakers continue to block fair wages for H-2B guestworkers and U.S. workers alike,鈥� said 澳彩开奖 Legal Director Mary Bauer. 鈥淛ust last month, a federal court endorsed the new DOL wage rule and expressed dismay that the agency continues to enforce its old rule, which drives down wages for both H-2B workers and U.S. workers.
鈥淐ongress should take a stand for these workers rather than support the systemic and chronic underpayment that is encouraged by the old rule.鈥�
The new regulation, announced by the DOL in 2011, would ensure that H-2B guestworkers receive fair pay for their work. Without it, businesses can offer lower wages to these temporary, low-skill foreign guestworkers, creating unfair competition that undercuts U.S. workers and leads to lower wages for them as well.
Employers and employer associations that use the H-2B program challenged the DOL rule in two separate lawsuits last September. But a federal court in Pennsylvania last month upheld it in one of the suits, empowering the DOL to ensure the U.S. labor market is not harmed by the importation of H-2B workers.
In a final vote this past weekend, Congress used the appropriations process to block DOL funding to enforce the rule.
