At least two of the jilted former Disney tech workers have filed official complaints with the Department of Labor in the hopes of spurring a federal investigation into the dubious layoff practices.
Disney laid off a number of workers in January, but only after forcing them to train their foreign replacements. Those unemployed workers were then allegedly blacklisted from gaining employment at other Disney-solicited contractors. (RELATED: Blacklist Update: Evidence Piles Up, Disney Maintains Denial)
One of the complaints obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation alleges HCL America, which Disney hired to indirectly replace hundreds of tech workers in January, violated federal labor law. (RELATED: Feds Expand Investigation Of H-1b Abuses As Calls For Action Intensify)
The former Disney tech worker alleges in the complaint that HCL America paid H-1b visa holders illegally low wages, placed them at a site where American workers were laid off, and did not consult with Disney as to whether American workers had been sought for those positions, among other allegations.
“This is a really good way to start an investigation into what happened,” the worker who filed the complaint, and is anonymous for legal reasons, told TheDCNF. “There can be senators that request an investigation, but when you actually have workers that file complaints, that adds to the traction and could prompt the powers that be to actually start a formal investigation.” (RELATED: Zuckerberg Ally On Americans Losing Jobs To Foreign Labor: ‘This Is What This Whole Country Is Built On)
Neither Disney nor HCL America immediately responded to requests for comment.
A bipartisan group of senators asked the Obama administration in April to launch an investigation into Southern California Edison — another tech company under visa-related allegations — but were initially refused. Shortly after The Daily Caller News Foundation and The New York Times reported on the Disney layoffs, however, the DoL announced it would investigate SCE.
Following that announcement, DHS responded to Florida Sen. Bill Nelson’s request for a comprehensive investigation, saying it would work with DoL to broaden the investigation of the H-1b visa program.
Fellow Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is vying for the Republican presidential nomination, recently broke his silence on the abuses, but stopped short of calling for specific action. “If the program was misused, then people should be held accountable,” a spokeswoman for Rubio’s Senate office told TheDCNF. (RELATED: Rubio, Jeb Silent On Disney Layoffs As Dem Demands Investigation)
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