DALLAS — A Houston wholesale furniture company has paid $35,651 in back wages and $21,600 in civil money penalties after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor found that two foreign employees were underpaid and were performing jobs different from those for which they had been certified to work in the United States.
The company, ACI Manufacturing Co. LP, does business as AAA Furniture Wholesale Inc., a distributor of restaurant equipment and furniture. The workers were employed under the H-1B program.
“Misuse of foreign labor certification is unfair to the workers and undermines the integrity of these programs,” said Betty Campbell, district director in Houston for the Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division, which conducted the investigation.
Under the H-1B program, employers are allowed to temporarily employ a foreign worker in the U.S. for a specialty occupation. Employers who apply for H-1B workers must specify the occupation and work site in which the workers will be employed, and must agree to pay prevailing wages as determined by wage surveys.
The civil money penalty is for alleged violations of the foreign labor certification program. The Wage and Hour Division’s investigation determined the company had misrepresented information on its application form to hire the workers and had paid less than the required prevailing wage rate. It also required the foreign workers to pay for legal and filing fees and failed to maintain mandated information on H-1B workers.
The back wages were assessed for alleged minimum wage and overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act as well as prevailing wage requirements of the H1-B program.
The Labor Department’s Wage and Hour Division and Employment and Training Administration (ETA), along with the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) share responsibility for administering the H-1B or Alien Labor Certification Program.
For more information about the Fair Labor Standards Act or compliance with the H-1B program, call the Wage Hour Houston district office at (713) 339-5500 or the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243).
Information is also available on the Internet at www.wagehour.dol.gov
