Major labour investigation launched in US

“It’s worker exploitation, forced labor, and human trafficking”

The US has launched a major investigation into alleged abuse of the H-1B visa program and the Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) labor certification system, as labor officials widen scrutiny of suspected visa fraud, worker exploitation and displacement of American workers.

“My team, in conjunction with President Trump and Vice President Vance’s Fraud Task Force, has worked relentlessly to uncover fraud, safeguard taxpayer dollars, and hold bad actors accountable. For far too long, fraudsters believed they could game the U.S. employment-based visa system and get away with it. They were wrong,” said Anthony P. D’Espsoito, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor. 

“This isn’t just paperwork fraud—it’s the exploitation of vulnerable workers, forced labor, the displacement of American workers, and abusive human trafficking. As the Inspector General, my top priorities are exposing fraud, protecting American workers, and putting criminals in cuffs.”

The Labor Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) said on Wednesday that it was intensifying enforcement against alleged fraud and human trafficking in the H-1B and PERM systems.

The OIG said it had uncovered alleged schemes in which employers and labor brokers submitted fraudulent applications, used coercive wage-kickback arrangements and undercut American workers by bringing in below-wage labor.

“This isn’t just paperwork fraud,” D’Esposito said in the official release, describing the conduct under investigation as worker exploitation, forced labor, displacement of American workers and human trafficking.

“These abuses undermine the integrity of Department of Labor programs designed to address genuine labor shortages — not to line the pockets of bad actors at the expense of American jobs. This investigation reflects the OIG’s unwavering commitment to dismantle human trafficking and forced-labor networks that exploit the foreign guest worker visa system,” reads the release. “The OIG is determined to root out every scheme that preys on vulnerable workers and take jobs from American workers.”

Public Awareness and Reporting Campaign

To safeguard workers and strengthen H-1B and PERM program integrity, the OIG is launching a nationwide awareness initiative encouraging:

• U.S. workers who believe they have been displaced or harmed by potential H-1B or PERM fraud or related industry practices, and
• Foreign workers who believe they have experienced exploitation, coercion, benching, or fraudulent recruitment practices, and
• Any workers who believe they were compelled against their will to provide labor or services through force, fraud, or coercion, to report concerns confidentially or directly.

Reports may be submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor OIG Hotline: 1-800-347-3756 or https://www.oig.dol.gov/hotline.htm