Congressman Glenn Grothman has introduced a bill that he says will put American workers first.
The Protecting American Workers Through H-1B Modernization Act aims to close an outdated loophole that allows H-1B dependent employers to bypass certain American worker protections.
Under current law, H-1B dependent employers, companies whose H-1B share of their workforce exceeds a particular threshold, must attest that they have first tried to hire American workers before sponsoring additional H-1B visas.
However, employers are exempted if they pay the H-1B worker at least $60,000 per year, or if the worker holds a master’s degree or higher.
That threshold, which was intended to be twice the SSA National Average Wage Index, was established in 1998.
Today, the SSA National Average Wage Index is nearly $70,000, meaning the original threshold, adjusted for inflation, would be nearly $140,000.
Rep. Grothman said of the bill, “There is no excuse for leaving this threshold unchanged when it should have been raised years ago. Washington’s failure to act shows how little the Establishment cares about unemployed Americans when employers want access to cheap foreign labor.”
A companion bill was introduced in the Senate by Senator John Husted of Ohio.
