The United States Department of Labor (DOL) provided new guidance that imposes significant new requirements on the notice posting practices for Labor Condition Applications (LCAs).
Up to this new guidance, H-1B employers have been legally required to post a notice informing affected U.S. workers of the employer’s intent to hire H-1B nonimmigrants. This notice provided the U.S. workers a right to examine certain documents concerning the H-1B and to file complaints if they believe violations of H-1B rules have occurred. This requirement included giving notice to workers at a third-party site where an H-1B employee is assigned, even if those workers are employed by another company.
The new guidance gives H-1B employers extra steps to ensure that electronic notices are readily available and accessible to all U.S. employees that are affected by the intent to hire H-1B nonimmigrants:
- Ensure that all affected U.S. workers are aware of an LCA notice for an occupation at the worksite. This includes employees of a third party.
- Ensure that affected workers have ready access to the electronic notice. For example, posting the LCA notice on an inaccessible or virtually unknown electronic site would not be enough to meet the new requirements.
- Ensure that affected U.S. workers are able to locate the electronic notice that applies to their specific worksite.
H-1B employers are bound to meet these new obligations by law. Failing to meet them may subject them to significant penalties. H-1B employers should consider how to align their LCA posting processes to meet the new obligations from this guidance.
Please do not hesitate to contact our office if you have any further questions regarding this matter.