In Turnabout, Disney Cancels Tech Worker Layoffs

[learc83]

H-1Bs are supposed to be used to fill jobs for which qualified Americans can't be found, but to get around this, Disney lays off workers and brings in a consultancy to take over. The consultancy employs the H-1B workers, not Disney.

There are so many loopholes that it seems like the only solutions are to either create a well funded agency/department to oversee this, or to increase the price far enough that H-1Bs are only viable as a last resort.

[bsder]

The solution is for H1-B workers to auto-convert to a green card after 12 months. Period. The company has 12 months to complete a security check and has to fund it itself.

Now, if the company really needs a worker brought in on an H1-B, they will be very happy and the H1-B queue will continuously clear itself. However, if all they want is an indentured servant, that will get quashed when the green card arrives.

Everybody wins--except for companies who abuse the H1-B program. Which is almost all of them. Which is why you never hear this solution.

[tsotha]

The H-1B visa should be eliminated. It's been nothing but a scam from the start. If there's a demand for a certain type of skill high wages will attract people to the field.

[xienze]

The other trick is to run job ads with impossible requirements (10+ years of Node.js, etc.) and hey, what do you know, we just don't have the skills required in this country!

[untog]

It doesn't actually seem that complicated - just stipulate that H1B workers must work on site, for the company they are employed for, not as a contractor.

Obviously that would need enforcement, but they already do checkups on some of these things, and if they're paired with high enough fines these outsourcing firms won't risk it.

[protomyth]

In my wildest dreams, I wish the tax system would allow the deduction of salaries and benefits payed to citizens but not to foreign workers. That would change the incentive for companies. Or, add a tax on foreign workers to help pay unemployment for citizens.

[danmaz74]

A simple enough solution is to require H-1B to be given only if the salary is X% above the industry average for the position. Then companies will only use them for people whose skills are actually difficult to find in the USA.

Edit: wording

[6stringmerc]

Let me get this straight - just as soon as the Department of Justice opens an investigation into the two major consultancies, Tata and Infosys, Disney decides to walk-back its plan of layoffs and replacement?

At the end of the day, I'm sure this will get swept under the rug and nobody in an Executive position - at any company (Tata, Infosys, Southern Cal Edison, Fossil, Disney, etc) - will actually face prosecution as an individual for manipulating / corrupting the system. However, there may be a job or two lost in shuffling around in order to sign a declaration that "We admit no wrongdoing and promise not to do it again" which ties up the investigation and puts a bow on it. Case closed.

Yet another metaphorical example of how the top tier of "business leaders" and decision makers pander to the top tier of the richest individuals ("investors") and have absolutely no disincentive to continually gutting the middle class and young generation of US Citizen workers who are ridiculously underemployed at this time.

[lmg643]

This doesn't seem like great reporting - largely unrelated to the Orlando event that triggered the NYT article.

This worker's blog seemed pretty insightful: https://plus.google.com/+KeithBarrett/posts/PWA6BXs7dbS

Taking his comment about revenue focused technology being developed in that office, it doesn't seem like it was a smart business move to lose the experience of the staff they had in place already.

[protomyth]

Thinking about it, perhaps some fine Congress Person could add a line to the H1B regulations that specifically states that an H1B cannot be billed out to other parties.

[Animats]

"The Labor Department said last week that it had opened an investigation into two outsourcing companies, Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys..." Disney was using both. And suddenly, Disney management decides that maybe violating labor law isn't such a good idea.

The US has reasonably good labor laws, but weak enforcement and too-small penalties.

[jamhan]

Now if only the Australian government would follow suit and follow through with investigations of similar practices here. Abuse of "skilled immigration" 457 visas is rampant.

[rbanffy]

I am more than a bit shocked. Of course I assumed there would be some abuse of H1B visas, but I never imagined a company would give the workers being displaced proof of such abuse.