Displacement by H1B Workers & Whistleblower Cases
Displacement by H1B Workers • Whistleblower Cases
Computer and IT Workers Displaced by Foreign Outsourcing Companies or Not Hired by Foreign Staffing Companies Operating in the US
According to numerous press reports and Congressional investigations, some US companies that contract with foreign outsourcing companies, most often those from India or China, to replace American jobs do so in a way that may violate our immigration laws and the civil rights of computer and IT workers who are US citizens or resident aliens. Moreover, a number of foreign outsourcing or staffing companies that fill computer and IT jobs in the United States reputedly engage in hiring practices that violate our immigration laws as well as the rights of US citizens and resident aliens.
If you are a computer programmer or an IT person and:
- you recently lost a job to an H-1B visa holder from another country, or
- your job was eliminated because it was contracted out to an outsourcing company, or
- you were interviewed in the United States by a manager of an US company who was from another country or a headhunter from a foreign staffing company and were not hired for a job for which you believe you were properly qualified, or
- you applied for a computer or an IT position that you believe you were qualified for and have not been interviewed, or
- your supervisor or manager at an US company who was from another country was giving you tendentious and undeservedly bad job reviews that led to your demotion or a dismissal from a company, or
- you may have been the victim of H-1B visa fraud or green card fraud and your civil rights may have been violated; your rights may have been violated in other ways.
Contact Robert Wisniewski at (212) 267-2102 to evaluate your potential entitlement to damages or reinstatement.
Whistleblower Lawsuits
Being a “whistleblower” can have pejorative connotations, but it can also be very profitable to those who have insider knowledge of fraud against federal, state or city government and want to help the government. Government contracts awarded to private companies sometimes reach tens and hundreds of millions of Dollars. Given their size and occasional lax supervision by government officials, there is tremendous potential and temptation for fraud, which can likewise reach millions of Dollars. If you are the first to “blow the whistle”, you may receive up to 30% of the amounts recovered by the government as a result of your efforts.
Whistleblower lawsuits are brought under the federal False Claims Act or its New York State or New York City equivalents and seek to recover government funds wrongfully paid out to individuals, companies or agencies that submitted false claims or who made false certifications in bills, contracts or other government documents. Such statutes allow people who are not affiliated with the government – generally, employees or former employees of the government contractors with insider knowledge of fraud – to file actions against such federal contractors claiming fraud against the government. Whistleblower actions typically involve the construction industry, Medicare/Medicaid funded programs, social programs, or other government spending programs.
Similarly, if you have information that your employer engaged in tax fraud (such as: hiding revenue, paying numerous employees in cash, or taking kickbacs from employees), you may approach the Internal Revenue Service with specific information about tax impropriety and in certain circumstances receive a reward – a portion of the taxes, interest and penalties that the IRS recovers – up to 30%.
IMPORTANT:
If you are in the process of being terminated by your company and received, or are about to receive, a package of documents to be signed in exchange for sometimes substantial severance pay, do not ever sign such documents at a meeting with the HR people or your manager. Insist on being given sufficient time to review such documents with an attorney. In certain situations, you may have seven days to revoke the severance documents after signing them.
