September 23, 2008

Bridgewater-based firm ordered to pay more than $54G in back wages to foreign workers

BRANDON LAUSCH
STAFF WRITER

A technology services and outsourcing company with headquarters on Route 22 has agreed to pay more than $54,000 in back wages to eight foreign workers after a federal investigation found violations of wage provisions, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Officials said the government's two-year probe found that the employees, who were hired as computer software consultants at Agma Systems, were not paid required wages under a federal visa program.

In some cases, the employees were put on "non-productive status" for as long as seven months through "no fault of their own," the labor department said in a statement.

Department of Labor spokeswoman Leni Fortson said one of the employees went unpaid for the "entire seven months the employee was in the country and associated with the company."

In another instance, Agma claimed an employee was on a period of unpaid vacation when "that employee was willing and able to work; the firm just did not have work for that employee," Fortson said.

Agma Systems, based at 1065 Route 22 West, also required some workers to post deposits to cover the company's business expenses, officials said. Although the deposits, in most cases, were returned after a year, some employees never got them back, according to the labor department.

Fortson said the labor department investigated Agma for two years starting in early April 2006. The affected employees were hired as early as fall 2006 and some worked to the end of 2007, she said. The $54,303 Agma Systems agreed to pay will go to the affected workers, officials said.

"This case demonstrates our commitment to enforce the H-1B provisions that guard against employers undercutting American workers by underpaying temporary foreign workers," said Joseph Petrecca, director of the labor department's Wage and Hour Division at the agency's northern New Jersey district office.

According to the labor department's statement, the H-1B visa program is "designed to assist employers who can't otherwise obtain needed business skills and abilities from the U.S. work force by authorizing the temporary employment of qualified foreign individuals who are not otherwise authorized to work in the United States."

The labor department also said employers must pay H-1B workers at least the same wages of regular employees in similar positions or the "prevailing wage in the area" while specifying the terms of employment and maintaining accurate documentation.

Numerous attempts to reach Agma Systems representatives Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Brandon Lausch can be reached at 908-707-3175 or blausch@mycentraljersey.com.