DOL Administrative Review Board Partly Affirms ALJ’s Decision in H-1B Wage Complaint

In a recent case decided (PDF) by the Department of Labor’s Administrative Review Board (ARB) on January 29, 2014, the ARB affirmed an administrative law judge’s (ALJ) finding that the scope of a Wage and Hour Division investigation initiated in response to a complaint is not limited to the allegations in that complaint. The ARB also affirmed the ALJ’s evidentiary ruling on the availability of pre- and post-judgment interest on awards in H-1B cases. The ARB reversed the ALJ’s finding that discrete violations occurring outside a 12-month period before the filing of a complaint are actionable. The deputy chief administrative appeals judge concurred in part and dissented in part, agreeing with the majority’s ruling in the case of the initial complainant but dissenting from the majority’s ruling in all other respects.

The ARB ordered Greater Missouri Medical Pro-Care Providers, Inc., to pay thousands of dollars in back wages for various violations to 29 H-1B workers. The case started when an H-1B nonimmigrant employee filed a complaint in 2006 alleging that Greater Missouri failed to pay her the required wages under its labor condition application for time off due to a decision by the employer, had illegally made deductions from her wages, and had required her to pay an illegal penalty for stopping work before an agreed-upon date.