3 ms·
I don't really think H1B workers can be considered at will workers. The company usually retains the right to fire the worker at will, but H1B workers have limi
by geebee 11y ago
I don't really think H1B workers can be considered at will workers. The company usually retains the right to fire the worker at will, but H1B workers have limited rights to remain in the US should they leave their jobs without a new sponsor lined up.
US citizens and permanent residents can change jobs freely, drop out of the work force, go back to school, transition to a new career, and so forth, all without jeopardizing their right to live and work in the US. While H1B workers do have some rights to change jobs, their mobility is considerably more limited.
You don't have to be especially cynical to believe that the very one-sided nature of the "at-will" relationship here, along with the high stakes for the employee (if you can't get a new job with a new sponsor, you will have to leave the country), is huge part of the appeal of these visas.
- jfuhrman 11y agoI was referring to the laid off employees, not the new ones.
- geebee 11y agoYes, I did understand that, but I think that if you're replacing "at will" employees with non at-will workers, in a very one-sided relationship, that is a relevant consideration in any use of the phrase "at will".
- hwstar 11y agoH1B employees are "at-will", and even in a more precarious situation with a sword of Damocles hanging by a thread over their heads. If they quit, they get sent back to their home country unless they arranged in advance for a different employer to sponsor them. If they are terminated, or laid off, they get sent back to their home country. It's fucked.
- s73v3r 11y agoBut they're not at will, as they don't have the "benefits" that everyone says being at will brings the employees.