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Demand for H1B visas outstrips supply
This year, the US government had to run a computer-generated random selection process or a lottery for H1B visas since applications far exceeded the number of visas available. This situation is also making Indian students at American colleges nervous since they face an uncertain future. But a group of American lawyers is making an attempt to convince the US Congress to raise the quota. Thousands of applicants for H1B visas will be disappointed this year, if they do not get their work permit after a lottery. The lottery was announced after the annual quota was exceeded on the first day of filing for the visas. But now the American Immigration Lawyers Association is starting to lobby hard with lawmakers to overcome this problem. Immigration lawyer, Cyrus Mehta told CNBC-TV18, "All the members, the attorney members of this organization, have been asked to contact their corporate clients and then get them to sign on to a letter and we hope to get 1000 signatures from H1B companies or companies using the H1B, to petition Congress people, Senators and members of the House, to increase the H1B quota and even increase the EB quota - the employment-based quota." The situation has caused great anxiety for Indian students studying in America because after spending large amounts on higher education here, they face the prospect of being jobless once they graduate.
Company not allowed to trim worker's pay over jury duty
Q: I am a salaried employee serving on a federal grand jury, which meets once, or occasionally, twice a month. My company's policy manual says we receive full pay for up to three days of jury duty per year. Since I'm serving more days than that, my boss says I must make up each jury day I miss, either with eight hours of work time or an eight-hour pay deduction. Putting aside the fact that I routinely work well over 40 hours a week, can my company legally deduct my salary or make me work an extra day for every day of jury duty? A: No, it cannot do either. Federal law is clear that salaried employees, at least those ineligible for overtime, cannot have their pay reduced for serving on federal juries, said Cynthia Ryan, a labor and employment lawyer with Holland & Knight in Orlando, Fla.
Ulmer & Berne LLP Partner, Timothy J. Downing, Appointed to the ...
As an Employment & Labor attorney with Ulmer & Berne, Mr. Downing helps companies develop and implement policies to attract the best and the brightest employees, protect their confidential information and resolve conflicts with employees who claim to have been discriminated against on the basis of age, race, sex, disability or sexual orientation. He also helps companies resolve conflicts with their customers and competitors. Mr. Downing has been named a "Leading Lawyer" by Inside Business magazine for the past six years and an "Ohio Super Lawyer" (2004, 2005). Ulmer & Berne LLP, established in 1908, is one of Ohio's largest law firms, as well as one of the fastest growing in the Midwest. The Firm was recently recognized in The BTI Consulting Group's most recent survey of corporate counsel as one of only 85 firms nationally "who deliver the best value for the dollar." Also, in a survey of Fortune 500 companies by Corporate Counsel magazine, Ulmer & Berne has been chosen as a Go-To Law Firm®.
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