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I keep on seeing this time and again on HN that "H-1B workers are cheap workers" (mostly with disdain, completely disregarding the fact that they might also be

I keep on seeing this time and again on HN that "H-1B workers are cheap workers" (mostly with disdain, completely disregarding the fact that they might also be technically 'better'), but is there any data to support those claims? Because if that's the case, that clearly warrants a few lawsuits about wage discrimination in American companies.

denzil_correa 9y ago
> Because if that's the case, that clearly warrants a few lawsuits about wage discrimination in American companies. Interesting. Could you detail out this a bit more, legally? I'd like to know the specific law which makes this "discrimination" illegal.
- piyush_soni 9y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964 ? So if in the same company an American is getting more salary for the same kind of work than an Indian counterpart on H-1B visa, that's clear discrimination on race or national origin, both outlawed by the above mentioned act.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - denzil_correa 9y ago
    I think the more pertinent law would be "The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)" - interesting! It seems that in order to solve the discriminatory pay problem one needs to just enforce the existing laws and do their job. https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/nationalorigin.cfm https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/nationalorigin.cfm
jimmywanger 9y ago
https://stoph1bvisafraud.org/2015/05/30/2015-h1b-visa-rank-and-the-average-salary-battle/ https://stoph1bvisafraud.org/2015/05/30/2015-h1b-visa-rank-a... Google is your friend. Indian body shops pay far less and apply for far more visas.
- piyush_soni 9y ago
  It's not what I'm talking about though. These are Indian companies which mostly employ only Indian people, all of whom might be cheap from your standards. I was mainly talking about the American companies that are employing both Americans and Indian H-1Bs, and are allegedly paying less to the similarly qualified Indian workers than their American counter parts (because that's where an average US citizen seems to have a problem with 'cheap Indians' snatching their jobs). These Indian companies' (Infosys, TCS etc.) jobs were anyway not "American jobs" to begin with, so there's no chance of Indians snatching them. I personally don't have a problem with equally qualified Indians getting paid less than the American counterparts as well, even if that might be the (illegal) case. In a free market, whoever provides best quality with the cheapest price wins anyway (and the employer gets to decide what 'quality' means to them), so I don't understand all the whining. Eventually, it's American companies that get benefited by these cheap workers, growing American economy. The local people, then would need to lower their rates to match the competition. That's what happens across the world.

denzil_correa 9y ago

> Because if that's the case, that clearly warrants a few lawsuits about wage discrimination in American companies. Interesting. Could you detail out this a bit more, legally? I'd like to know the specific law which makes this "discrimination" illegal.

piyush_soni 9y ago
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_Rights_Act_of_1964 ? So if in the same company an American is getting more salary for the same kind of work than an Indian counterpart on H-1B visa, that's clear discrimination on race or national origin, both outlawed by the above mentioned act.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- denzil_correa 9y ago
  I think the more pertinent law would be "The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 (IRCA)" - interesting! It seems that in order to solve the discriminatory pay problem one needs to just enforce the existing laws and do their job. https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/nationalorigin.cfm https://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/nationalorigin.cfm

jimmywanger 9y ago

https://stoph1bvisafraud.org/2015/05/30/2015-h1b-visa-rank-and-the-average-salary-battle/ https://stoph1bvisafraud.org/2015/05/30/2015-h1b-visa-rank-a... Google is your friend. Indian body shops pay far less and apply for far more visas.

piyush_soni 9y ago
It's not what I'm talking about though. These are Indian companies which mostly employ only Indian people, all of whom might be cheap from your standards. I was mainly talking about the American companies that are employing both Americans and Indian H-1Bs, and are allegedly paying less to the similarly qualified Indian workers than their American counter parts (because that's where an average US citizen seems to have a problem with 'cheap Indians' snatching their jobs). These Indian companies' (Infosys, TCS etc.) jobs were anyway not "American jobs" to begin with, so there's no chance of Indians snatching them. I personally don't have a problem with equally qualified Indians getting paid less than the American counterparts as well, even if that might be the (illegal) case. In a free market, whoever provides best quality with the cheapest price wins anyway (and the employer gets to decide what 'quality' means to them), so I don't understand all the whining. Eventually, it's American companies that get benefited by these cheap workers, growing American economy. The local people, then would need to lower their rates to match the competition. That's what happens across the world.