Chairman Miller Statement on Guest Worker Program

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

WASHINGTON, DC -- Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, issued the following statement on the briefing held today about abuses in the seasonal guest worker program.

“News that over 100 guest workers from India recently filed a federal lawsuit alleging they were the victims of human trafficking at the Signal International shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi underscores that the U.S. guest worker program is in serious need of reform. These workers have said that they each paid up to $20,000 to a recruiter who made the false promise that the H-2B program included a green card. I have authored legislation that would explicitly ban such fees and regulate the labor recruiters who too often act unscrupulously and make such claims.

“It is clear that additional steps must also be taken to ensure that the H2-B program operates in the best interests of U.S. and foreign workers. We must insist that the program pay workers the prevailing wage for the type of work they are performing in the locations where they are working, so that employers won’t hire guest workers in order to drive U.S. workers’ wages down. We must ensure that guest workers have a way to seek justice when they believe they have been wronged. And the U.S. Department of Labor must stop shirking its responsibilities and start enforcing the law. Finally, at a time when a growing number of American workers are losing their jobs, we should make sure that U.S. workers are recruited first before turning to guest workers.

“We must make certain that there are sufficient safeguards in place to protect all workers – both U.S. workers and guest workers – from exploitation. Strong labor standards that are vigorously enforced are essential to prevent employers from driving down wages and hurting our economy. Until we have stronger protections for both U.S. workers and foreign guest workers, I cannot support increasing the size of the guest worker program.”

Background:

Domestic companies can apply for foreign guest workers to work in their businesses for up to one year if they demonstrate a need and U.S. workers cannot fill the job openings. Currently, the law allows up to 66,000 guest workers to enter the country using H2-B non-agricultural seasonal visas. Workers must return to their country of origin after their temporary work visa expires.

Miller introduced a bill last year to curb abuses by unscrupulous foreign labor recruiters. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (H.R. 3887) would require clear and accurate disclosure of terms of employment to recruited workers in their native language including location, compensation, job requirements, and commissions paid by employers to recruiters, among other items.  It would also outlaw exorbitant fees paid by workers to recruiters that expose workers to bankruptcy or other financial harm. These fees have trapped many guest workers into a cycle of debt, afraid to speak up for fear of losing their jobs.

The bill also requires foreign labor recruiters to register with the Department of Labor and gives the Department the ability to exclude unscrupulous recruiters from participating in guest worker programs. The recruiters and the employers that use them may be liable for violations of these provisions.    

For more information on legislation proposed by Miller last year, click here.

The committee explored the status of U.S. guest worker programs in June and highlighted the many abuses of these workers by foreign labor recruiters. For more information on the hearing, click here.

On March 11, Rep. Miller requested information from U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine Chao on the guest worker situation in Mississippi. Chao has yet to respond to the request. To read the letter, click here.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom Kiley / Rachel Racusen
2181 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
202-226-0853