Benching H1B employees and not paying them is illegal and can be costly to IT consulting firms

For years, our law firm has advocated that IT consulting or other consulting companies should not  “bench” their employees.  Benching is the process of not paying the H1B employees while there is no work for them especially if they are working on different clients’ sites.  We have previously written extensively on the mistakes of IT consulting firm policies and how to correct them. However it seems some of them has not really learn the lesson.

In a lawsuit filed in labor court against Dibon Solutions of Carrollton, Texas in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, the company was indicted under federal charges of defrauding immigration laws and labor laws.

Again the H1B season for 2013 is on and we recommend all our clients and potential clients to make sure that they are not “benching” employees or making other mistakes regarding H1B visas.

For more information on H1B visas, call us at 510 742 5887.