Outsourcing: How to Skirt the Law

[barb162]

Outsourcing: How to Skirt the Law
June 22, 2007, 12:01AM EST
The video looks as though it could have been shot at almost any sleepy corporate seminar in the country, with one camera panning between a man in a suit and tie standing at a podium and others seated nearby. But the dialogue is riveting: It's a group of lawyers openly discussing strategies for helping their clients pretend that they're trying to recruit American workers—as required by law—while they, in fact, hire cheaper foreign workers.

"ur goal is clearly not to find a qualified and interested U.S. worker," says Lawrence Lebowitz, director of marketing for the Pittsburgh law firm Cohen & Grigsby, before an audience of employers at the firm's conference. The seminar provides details on how employers can meet the government's requirements for the Permanent Labor Certificate program (PERM), which lets employers sponsor foreign workers for permanent residency if they can demonstrate no U.S. worker can fill a job. The trick, according to Cohen & Grigsby attorneys, is to only go through the motions of hiring Americans without ever intending to.

The video, which has been posted on YouTube (GOOG), is now sparking a sharp backlash. On June 21, Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Representative Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) fired off a letter to Cohen & Grigsby demanding an explanation for its advice, as well as going so far as to ask for the names of its clients. "Your firm's video advises employers how to hire only foreign labor, while making it nearly impossible for a qualified American worker to get a job," they wrote. "We look forward to hearing from you on how such advice is ethical and does not undermine the programs by enticing fraud and misuse." (See the lawmakers' letter here.) A public relations firm representing Cohen & Grigsby did not return phone calls seeking comment.

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http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/jun2007/db20070621_912042.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives

[Captain Angry]

1. As a former tech worker whose job is now in India,

I'd like to puke, and then punch some of these people in the head.

I'm glad B-week picked up on it, hopefully it will get out to a wider audience. Perhaps I should check to see if Lou Dobbs has seen it. Dobbs is a douche, but he would be just the guy to go berserk over this and give it better coverage.

[barb162]

2. I'm glad BW picked up on it too. It's great. The story needs to be told

People who have been outsourced and their families and friends have to get mad and start writing letters to Congress.

Sorry about what happened to you. It's happening far too often (once is too often). It's such a scam.