Changes in the H-1B Visa Process

By Marianna Michael

It is time to begin working on your H-1B visa petitions for the fiscal year beginning October 2019.  The H-1B visa offers employers a means to temporarily hire international workers for positions that cannot be filled by U.S. workers.  There is a cap of 85,000 visas which can be issued, of which 65,000 are allocated for individuals who have a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent, and 20,000 are allocated for individuals who have a master’s degree or higher.  The H-1B visa is the method way many companies use to hire individuals with highly technical skills in science, technology, engineering and math.  The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”) generally receives an overload of applications; 199,000 petitions were filed in 2018.

In addition to the high number of applications, there are other challenges for employers desiring to use the H-1B visas.  First, President Trump issued an executive order, “Buy American and Hire American: Putting Americans First,” which is

Walmart Announces Wage Increases

By Colby F. Block

On Thursday, Walmart announced several changes to its compensation and benefits structure—the most noticeable being its hourly wage increase. Walmart states that, by April 2015, its entry-level wage will start at $9 an hour, and it will go up to $10 an hour by early 2016.

Other new measures include additional training and opportunities for internal promotion, which Walmart CEO Doug McMillon states will create clearer paths to better jobs and higher pay.

These changes are significant—Walmart is the largest private employer in the country, and this will increase wages for 500,000 of its employees. The cost to Walmart over the next year is projected at one billion dollars, but this number is actually small considering the company’s almost $500 billion in annual revenue.

Walmart’s announcement has already created quite the media frenzy. And some—noting that it is not altruism behind these changes—are already questioning Walmart’s motives. Walmart is a business, after all, so there is a bottom line. Is the goal to

President Obama’s Equal Pay Executive Orders to Impact Federal Contractors

By R. Joseph Stennis

In support of National Equal Pay Day, President Obama signed an executive order on April 8, 2014, that prohibits federal contractors from retaliating against workers who discuss their compensation with each other and/or in the workplace. According to White House officials, this executive order will not compel workers to discuss pay and/or require employers to publish employee compensation. Instead, it will serve as a “critical tool” to encourage pay transparency, so that workers have an additional mechanism in place for discovering violations of equal pay laws and are able to seek appropriate remedies. Whether retaliation against employees who discuss their pay on social media outlets such as Twitter or Facebook would also fall under the President’s order is uncertain, but more than likely would be protected under the contemplated executive order.

Additionally, President Obama will direct the Labor Department this week to create and issue regulations that will require federal contractors to submit to the Deparment data regarding their employees’ compensation. This data must include details regarding employee gender and race. The Labor Department will utilize the data to conduct more targeted enforcement against federal contractors with the expectation that companies will comply voluntarily with equal-pay laws — the Equal Pay Act of 1963 and the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. It remains unclear at this point what such “targeted enforcement” will entail. However, it may result in more enforcement activity by the Department if it concludes a company is not being compliant.

President to Announce Minimum Wage Hike for Certain Federal Contractor Employees

By Edwin S. Hopson

Several news outlets, including the New York Times, are reporting that President Obama plans to announce tonight
during his State of the Union address that he plans to sign an executive order requiring that certain workers, including janitors and construction workers, who are employed by federal contractors be paid at least $10.10 an hour as a minimum wage.  This effort, which avoids the need for Congressional approval, may be the only way the President can effect such a change.