Software services provider Cognizant said it has agreed to pay $509,000 as back-wages to 67 employees who went on H-1B visa to the US, after the US Labour department asked it to do so.
This comes to about $75 a month for these 67 employees over the eight years in question. Between 2001-2008, Cognizant had 40,000 people in the US, including whose who went on H1-B visas.
In a release, the department said its Wage and Hour Division found that Cognizant did not comply with regulations related to paying computer professionals hired under the H-1B program the proper wages, failed to offer all H-1B workers equal benefits or eligibility for equal benefits, and failed to maintain required records.
H-1B is a professional visa and usually given for three years and extendable for another three, so it is effectively a six-year visa. IT companies vie for the majority of H-1B visas.
The Department of Labour reviewed all of Cognizant’s LCA or labour condition applications from 2001 to 2008 through a process launched a couple of years back.
“During the 8 years in question when Cognizant had over 40,000 employees at Cognizant US, it was determined that we had unintentionally differed from the H-1B required wage level in just 67 cases, or a meager 0.17% of our employee wage payments. Cognizant believes that these 67 individuals were already paid at or above the required wage, but to avoid any doubt, we are immediately paying back wages to them. Communication to that effect has been sent to the associates concerned,” Cognizant spokesperson said.
Issues over H-1B visas are not new to the IT industry. During the year ended March 31, 2008, Infosys voluntarily settled with the California Division of Labor Standards Enforcement toward possible overtime payment to certain employees in California, USA, for a total amount of Rs 102 crore ($26 million) pertaining to the last three years.
In June 2007, Patni Computer Systems agreed to pay more than $2.4 million to settle US federal allegations that 607 employees hired by the India-based technology services company to do computer work in 32 states in 2004 and 2005 were not paid prevailing local wages.
“Cognizant Technology Solutions has taken immediate steps to correct all identified violations and ensure future compliance,” said Joseph Petrecca, director of the Wage and Hour Division’s Northern New Jersey District Office. “This level of cooperation sets a standard for others in the industry.”
Given the increasingly protectionist tone in Washington, wages to H-1B employees are an important issue in outsourcing, especially at a time when the economy is shrinking and people are losing jobs. Traditionally, one of the key grouse of the anti-outsourcing lobby is that foreigners ready to accept low wages take away American jobs.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Infosys to apply for fewer H-1B visas
Infosys Technologies on Wednesday said it will apply for lesser number of H-1B visas this year. Last year the company had applied and received 4,500 of those visas, but this year it could be less than 3,000.
Infosys chief financial officer V Balakrishnan told Financial Chronicle that most other companies may also decide to apply for less. The H-1B visa allotment started on Wednesday. Every year, the quota gets exhausted within the first 2-3 days, but this time it may take longer.
“We have decided to cut down on the number of applications. This time it will be 25-30 per cent less than the previous yea,” Balakrishnan said.
Indian IT firms are facing an uncertain business environment globally. There is also the need to downsize onsite workforce as clients continue to ask for reduced billing rates. This has led to companies such as Infosys to apply for lesser number of visas.
“We want to assess the business environment and do it on an ‘as and when’ policy. We may not be required to utilise all the visas we receive, if the business environment is not conducive,” Balakrishnan said.
The Indian IT firms are looking at a business model that’s not just dependent on visas, but one that includes hiring local workforce and in near shore locations, the Infosys CFO added. Applying for lesser number of visas would mean lower costs and that would have a positive impact on first quarter margins.
The H-1B programme allows US companies to bring in foreign skilled workers when such skills are in short supply.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has said it would continue to accept applications beyond the five-day stipulated period if it does not receive adequate number of applications to meet the annual cap of 65,000. Of that 20 per cent goes to Indian IT firms.
Infosys chief financial officer V Balakrishnan told Financial Chronicle that most other companies may also decide to apply for less. The H-1B visa allotment started on Wednesday. Every year, the quota gets exhausted within the first 2-3 days, but this time it may take longer.
“We have decided to cut down on the number of applications. This time it will be 25-30 per cent less than the previous yea,” Balakrishnan said.
Indian IT firms are facing an uncertain business environment globally. There is also the need to downsize onsite workforce as clients continue to ask for reduced billing rates. This has led to companies such as Infosys to apply for lesser number of visas.
“We want to assess the business environment and do it on an ‘as and when’ policy. We may not be required to utilise all the visas we receive, if the business environment is not conducive,” Balakrishnan said.
The Indian IT firms are looking at a business model that’s not just dependent on visas, but one that includes hiring local workforce and in near shore locations, the Infosys CFO added. Applying for lesser number of visas would mean lower costs and that would have a positive impact on first quarter margins.
The H-1B programme allows US companies to bring in foreign skilled workers when such skills are in short supply.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Services has said it would continue to accept applications beyond the five-day stipulated period if it does not receive adequate number of applications to meet the annual cap of 65,000. Of that 20 per cent goes to Indian IT firms.
TCS, Infosys, Wipro eye Woolworth's $100 mn deal
Top Indian tech firms TCS, Infosys and Wipro, along with multinational rivals IBM, Accenture and HP-EDS , are currently chasing an outsourcing contract worth over $100 million from Australia’s biggest retailer Woolworths, as the retailer plans to deploy a SAP-based solution for transforming its merchandising and supply chain platforms.
Hays opens India office
For the UK-headquartered Hays Plc, the world’s largest global specialist recruitment company, economic recession is hardly a deterrent when it comes to market expansion.
“Opening in India is a key step in our expansion strategy. India is the twelfth largest economy in the world but has no specialist recruitment sector, despite the exponential growth in its professional and skilled workforce. We are totally committed to our move in India and we plan to open offices in other key Indian cities,” said Alistair Cox, chief executive of Hays. “
Even in recession, people move jobs. When people are retrenched, they look for new jobs. So opportunities are plenty in India,” Cox says.
“Opening in India is a key step in our expansion strategy. India is the twelfth largest economy in the world but has no specialist recruitment sector, despite the exponential growth in its professional and skilled workforce. We are totally committed to our move in India and we plan to open offices in other key Indian cities,” said Alistair Cox, chief executive of Hays. “
Even in recession, people move jobs. When people are retrenched, they look for new jobs. So opportunities are plenty in India,” Cox says.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Worm infecting MS Windows may fool on April 1
As April Fool’s Day draws closer, Windows XP and Windows 2000 users are being advised by security experts to brace themselves against the third variant of the deadly Conficker worm which may begin a new cycle of spreading spam, stealing data or carrying out online scams.Conficker, a new breed of self-updating PC worms that has infiltrated nearly every Windows 2000 and XP machines, has largely affected users in countries like China, Brazil, Russia, and India which also have some of the highest numbers of pirated copies of Windows in the world. Almost 607,172 IPs (internet addresses) in India and overall 10 million IPs have been affected by Conficker, according to estimates made by researchers at SRI International.
Meanwhile, to prevent the spread of the worm, security experts have advised users to immediately update their Windows operating systems and also update their antivirus programmes. “Windows XP and older versions of Windows are most at risk from the worm. Users are advised to install Microsoft’s latest patch and, as ever, to update their security software,” said Ambarish Deshpande, regional director, IronPort Systems. The security firm acknowledges that there has been a huge increase in attacks from emerging economies especially India and Brazil.
Mikko Hypponen, F-Secure’s Chief Security Officer said the new variant is much more sophisticated in the way it plants itself on computers. "It may not trigger a reaction from installed security software as it simply terminates tools used to monitor and remove it from affected systems," he added. F-Secure, a leading IT security and solution provider, also claimed there has been an increase in number of viruses originating from India. “We have noted that viruses like Die_Hard, Joshi, Microbes, V-Sign and Wolleh first took off in India,” says Venu Palakriti, sales director of F-Secure.
The Indian security software market, which is already showing signs of a slowdown, is a worried lot. Estimates suggest the security software grew roughly 25 per cent in 2008 compared to 35.2 per cent in 2007, with the Indian security market standing at just Rs 1,500 crore for FY 2008. As a result Symantec’s latest spam report ranks India third, after US and Brazil as the top most spam producing countries. Symantec’s estimates that the Indian continent contributes 5 per cent of the total spam traffic.
Wells Fargo: May Cut Foreign Workers; Cites Political Pressure
Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC), one of the largest U.S. lenders, told employees this month that it's considering cutting foreign workers, citing political pressure stemming from the government's bailout of the banking industry, according to an internal email obtained by MarketWatch.
Wells Fargo & Co. is deciding on a “case-by-case basis” whether to renew the sponsorship of employees working in the U.S. on so-called H-1B visas, a spokeswoman said today.
The economic stimulus package passed in February makes it more difficult for banks that have received government aid to hire new foreign workers. But the San Francisco-based bank's policy applies to employees already working at the company. Wells acquired Charlotte's Wachovia Corp. last year.
H-1B visas allow U.S. companies to hire specialized workers, particularly in technology fields. Backers say the visas let employers tap needed talent, while critics say companies use them to hire less expensive workers from overseas.
Wells Fargo spokeswoman Mary Eshet said the company's “approach has always been to find the talent and skills we need in the United States whenever possible.” Less than .04 percent of the bank's 281,000 employees work under H-1B sponsorships.
How many workers will lose their jobs under the policy is unclear. One employee familiar with the policy said it was already affecting workers here in Charlotte. Business Web site Martketwatch today reported that some Wells employees have received e-mails from the company informing them that their visas will not be renewed.
"Due to the fact that we have and will be displacing numerous U.S. citizens in your same positions Wells Fargo has decided to enforce a policy that prohibits lines of businesses to file visa sponsorships for foreign nationals that would hold positions that could otherwise be held by qualified U.S. citizens,” an e-mail obtained by Marketwatch said.
Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. has previously said it was rescinding job offers to students that required H-1B sponsorship. A spokeswoman declined to comment on whether current employees would be affected. The bank said less than 1 percent of its 301,000 employees require H-1B visas.
Wells has received $25 billion from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Bank of America has taken $45 billion.
Related news also on portfolio.com
Wells Fargo & Co. is deciding on a “case-by-case basis” whether to renew the sponsorship of employees working in the U.S. on so-called H-1B visas, a spokeswoman said today.
The economic stimulus package passed in February makes it more difficult for banks that have received government aid to hire new foreign workers. But the San Francisco-based bank's policy applies to employees already working at the company. Wells acquired Charlotte's Wachovia Corp. last year.
H-1B visas allow U.S. companies to hire specialized workers, particularly in technology fields. Backers say the visas let employers tap needed talent, while critics say companies use them to hire less expensive workers from overseas.
Wells Fargo spokeswoman Mary Eshet said the company's “approach has always been to find the talent and skills we need in the United States whenever possible.” Less than .04 percent of the bank's 281,000 employees work under H-1B sponsorships.
How many workers will lose their jobs under the policy is unclear. One employee familiar with the policy said it was already affecting workers here in Charlotte. Business Web site Martketwatch today reported that some Wells employees have received e-mails from the company informing them that their visas will not be renewed.
"Due to the fact that we have and will be displacing numerous U.S. citizens in your same positions Wells Fargo has decided to enforce a policy that prohibits lines of businesses to file visa sponsorships for foreign nationals that would hold positions that could otherwise be held by qualified U.S. citizens,” an e-mail obtained by Marketwatch said.
Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. has previously said it was rescinding job offers to students that required H-1B sponsorship. A spokeswoman declined to comment on whether current employees would be affected. The bank said less than 1 percent of its 301,000 employees require H-1B visas.
Wells has received $25 billion from the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Bank of America has taken $45 billion.
Related news also on portfolio.com
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