FAIR Opposes Biden Effort to Delay Implementation of Rule Protecting American Jobs and Wages

News provided by

Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)

Feb 17, 2021, 08:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Feb. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) submitted a public comment yesterday to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) opposing the agency's intention to delay implementation of a Trump administration rule that would protect the jobs and wages of American workers at a critical time.

The rule, Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States, is a disincentive to employers who might bypass American workers in favor of guestworkers by requiring the use of more realistic wage scales to determine the compensation paid to temporary foreign workers. The intent of the new rule is to prevent employers from manipulating wage scales in ways that allow them to pay guestworkers less than they would have to pay American workers.

"FAIR strongly opposes DOL's proposal to delay the effective date of the Strengthening Wage Protections for the Temporary and Permanent Employment of Certain Aliens in the United States Final Rule. The current wage structure has resulted in serious fiscal harm to many U.S. workers by allowing employers to underpay foreign workers admitted under these visa programs," states the comment to DOL.

"Postponing the effective date of this final rule past April 1, 2021 prevents these protections from being applied to the H-1B visa allocation for at least a full calendar year (assuming that DOL implements the rule any time prior to April 2022). Such a delay will only reduce job opportunities and suppress wages for U.S. workers at a time when millions of Americans are out of work, resulting in severe harm to U.S. workers and exploitation for foreign workers benefiting from the abovementioned visa programs," FAIR continues.

"President Biden touts himself as a relentless defender of American workers, often citing his own upbringing in a family that struggled to make ends meet. Yet, in one of his first acts as president, his administration is affirmatively removing safeguards that would protect white-collar and blue-collar American workers, and doing so during a period of high unemployment," commented Dan Stein, president of FAIR. "The abuse of guestworker programs, resulting in harm to American workers, has been widely acknowledged by Republicans and Democrats alike. There is no justification to further delay implementation of these long overdue protections."

The administration's proposed delay in implementing the final rule is being spearheaded by powerful business interests with support from far-left factions of the president's coalition. "In our comments to DOL, FAIR is urging the president to side with the American workers whose struggles he has long claimed to identify with," Stein concluded.

Contact: Matthew Tragesser, 202-328-7004 or [email protected]

ABOUT FAIR

Founded in 1979, FAIR is the country's largest immigration reform group. With over 3 million members and supporters nationwide, FAIR fights for immigration policies that serve national interests, not special interests. FAIR believes that immigration reform must enhance national security, improve the economy, protect jobs, preserve our environment, and establish a rule of law that is recognized and enforced.

SOURCE Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)