Precast Inc. - May/June 2008 - (Page 48) “Hiring Across the Borders” Hiring legal immigrants has always been a challenge, but in recent months, it has become even more of a challenge. According to an article in the Feb. 6, 2008, issue of “USA Today,” businesses that rely on seasonal workers are scrambling to fill positions. Some businesses are even shutting down, because there are fewer visas for the foreign workers who usually fill the jobs. The reason: Each year, the U.S. government designates 66,000 visas for temporary workers in non-agricultural labor (called H-2B visas). For the past three years, Congress has allowed businesses to get H-2B visas for some of their returning workers without counting them against the 66,000 cap. In 2007, the exemption allowed visas for 51,000 returning workers (making a total of 117,000 H-2B visas). This year, the total cap is once again 66,000, because the exemption has expired. Some lawmakers are attempting to renew the exemption, but there is no light at the end of the tunnel yet. In 2006, workers from these countries received the most H-2B visas (numbers rounded to nearest thousand): • Mexico – 80,000 • Jamaica – 13,000 • Guatemala – 5,000 • Romania – 3,000 Other countries with between 1,000 and 2,000 included South Africa, Philippines, Brazil, Great Britain, Bulgaria and Dominican Republic. Source: U.S. Department of State The Maldonado Law Firm in San Antonio is one of a growing number of firms that specialize in consulting with employers on I-9 reviews known as “no match” letters. The I-9 involves matching employees with their Social Security numbers. Maldonado also specializes in H-2A (agricultural workers) and H2B (non-agricultural workers) documents for unskilled workers. “There are 66,000 visas available,” explains Francisco Maldonado. “For the last three or four years, the ‘returning worker provision’ was in place, meaning that if you had an H-2B visa before, you were exempt from the 66,000 cap and basically had a guaranteed spot. This was renewed the last two or three years, but it was not renewed this year.” So how can a U.S. precast employer legally hire workers from outside of the country? The employer and Maldonado file an application with the workforce agency (such as department of labor or employment commission) in the state where the precaster is located. They explain to the state agency that the precaster needs a certain number of workers for a certain period of time. “The states require that the company first attempt to actively recruit U.S. workers,” Maldonado said. The application requires that the company first run an advertisement for three consecutive days with a job description and offer at minimum the wage that is set by the state (usually in the $7 to $8 per hour range). The job also must be posted in the state’s job bank. “After this, we complete a summary form and send it to the U.S. Department of Labor in Chicago or Atlanta, explaining that the company has valid work, that we have attempted to recruit U.S. workers but have been unable to find a sufficient number of workers for the jobs that are available in the company.” The U.S. Department of Labor then issues a labor certification, which certifies the company to hire outside labor. Maldonado emphasizes that this is a legal process. It differs from one that is not legal: If a worker has been in the U.S. illegally (undocumented) for more than one year, that worker is barred from receiving any immigration benefit. This means he or she is barred for 10 years from making an application for a visa. “To try to get around this, some companies have sent workers back to Mexico to establish residency for a few months, and then try to bring them back in legally,” Maldonado said. “However, the Immigration Department is catching on to this, and it is interviewing workers to find out if they ever have been in the U.S. before.” In some cases, Immigration might interview 20 immigrant employees at an employer’s place of work, and if it can find evidence that even one of these had been in the United States illegally before (such as by finding fingerprints on file from an arrest in the United States), it will send all of the workers back. Again, Maldonado emphasizes that his law firm does not get involved in the practice of bringing in workers who have previously been in the United States. “We utilize a labor certification process that only brings in new workers – those who have never been in the U.S. before.” to its Web site, because there are times when people are looking for a new job but are not actually ready to apply anywhere yet. “In this way, they can go to our Web site first, learn a little bit about us, and then decide if they want to apply,” Tidwell said. Media Monarch Products of York Haven, Pa., has tried recruiting applicants through radio, television and newspapers. What works the best for Monarch is advertising on a small local cable station. “I think the reason that it’s successful is that the people who watch this station tell family members and friends 48 MAY/JUNE 2008 | PRECAST INC. about the job opportunities we have,” said Ed Wagman Jr., vice president. “One of our employees suggested the idea about five years ago, and we looked into it.” It costs $10 a week, and the ad runs continuously for the week. The company runs each ad for about two weeks at a time, and it usually gets about 10 responses. Another effective way for Monarch is word-of-mouth from current employees. “We allow the employees to do this on their own,” Wagman said. In the past, Monarch offered bonuses to employees who recommended someone that the company hired. However, that met with some problems. “In some cases, the employee didn’t stay very long,” Wagman
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.