The H-1B Prevailing Wage is Substantially Below the Median Wage of U.S. Workers

The H-1B Prevailing Wage is Substantially Below the Median Wage of U.S. Workers

Sacramento, CA (PRWEB) July 6, 2006 -- The Programmers Guild, an organization advocating for US-based computer professionals, finds that the prevailing wage protections in pending immigration legislation, such as the "SKIL Bill," authorize corporations to pay foreign tech workers $25,000 below the wage paid to average U.S. workers in the same professions.
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Proponents of the H-1B program argue that H-1B workers are the "best and brightest" workers in the world, bringing specialized skills that U.S. workers lack. But if wages are an indication of value, the opposite is true: In Silicon Valley only 16% of H-1B workers are earning at least what an average American programmer earns, and this ratio holds across the U.S.

In Fiscal Year 2005 the Department of Labor certified that H-1B computer programmers in Silicon Valley earning as low as $40,000 per year, and these wages were found to be in compliance with prevailing wage requirements by both the DOL and the GAO.
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Thus, even if the H-1B worker possesses a PhD, if the job they are filling does not require an advanced degree, DOL directs employers to utilize Wage Level One as their prevailing wage.

The DOL wage level worksheet is here:

Reference: www.flcdatacenter.com/download/PW_Guidance_2005_Mar_01_App_B_C.pdf

Step 1: Enter Wage Level 1

Step 2: If the years of experience are GREATER THAN the low-end O*NET (e.g., more than 2-4 years), add a 1, 2, or 3 as appropriate.

Step 3: If the required education is GREATER THAN a BS degree, add 1 or 2 as appropriate.

Step 4: If the job requires special skills or licensing BEYOND what the profession normally requires, add a 1 or 2 as appropriate.

Step 5: If the job includes SUPERVISORY duties, add 1.

SUM: For an average job requiring average skills and education, DOL instructs employers to use wage level 1
DOL's "prevailing wage" that is $25,000 below the wages of average-skilled U.S. workers in the same job classification is a sham. Congress, DOL, and GAO should defend how wages at the 3rd to 17th percentile of what average U.S. workers earn are "prevailing wages," or they should fix the problem within their pending H-1B legislation. ...