Iflowsoft fined for discrimination
By Pulkit Sharma

It is an open secret that a handful of Indian IT companies and body shops have used every legal trick to use the USA visa system to their advantage.  The idea was to corner the H-1B working visas, import skilled but competitive priced Indians, and make huge profits.  In 2008, the US Govt fined iGate Mastech Inc $45,000 for online job ads asking only H-1B visa holders to apply.

According to the US Department of Justice, it is illegal to give preferences to H-1B workers over US citizens since 2000.  The theory being that H-1B visas should only be allocated to highly skilled overseas tech workers who are needed to fill vacancies in their fields.  The ground realities are slightly different.

This week, New Jersey based Iflowsoft, which has offices in Coimbatore, was also fined for discriminating against American tech workers by only hiring Indians on working visas.

The Justice Department announced  that it has reached a settlement agreement with Iflowsoft LLC, a computer programming services provider in Iselin, N.J., to settle allegations that Iflowsoft engaged in a pattern or practice of citizenship status discrimination by preferring to hire temporary visa holders over U.S. citizens.  

According to the department’s findings, Iflowsoft posted several job advertisements for IT professionals expressing a preference for temporary visa holders (specifically H-1B transfers and / or OPT candidates).   The facially discriminatory advertisements deterred the charging party, a U.S. citizen, from applying to Iflowsoft.    In addition, the department found Iflowsoft hired an H1-B visa holder without considering a qualified U.S. citizen applicant.   The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) generally prohibits employers from discriminating based on citizenship status during the hiring process.

Under the terms of the settlement, Iflowsoft has agreed to pay $6,400 in civil penalties and $7,158.49 in back pay to two U.S. citizens who were qualified for the positions advertised and applied, or would have applied for the positions.  Iflowsoft has also agreed to provide its employees training on the INA anti-discrimination requirements, adopt nondiscrimination policies with respect to recruitment and hiring, and maintain and submit records to the United States for the three-year term of the agreement.