The US Department of Labor announced last Friday that it is revising its interpretation of regulations concerning which employers of H-1B visas must file a Labor Conditions Application. It has found that all common-law employers of H-1B workers, including any secondary employers that meet the common-law test, must file a Labor Condition Application. The agency noted that H-1B employment often involves primary employers, such as staffing firms, and secondary employers, such as client companies of staffing firms.
“Under the interpretation announced today, when a primary employer places an H-1B worker with a secondary employer that is a common law employer of the H-1B worker, such as when a staffing agency places a software engineer with certain technology firms, the secondary employer, in addition to the primary employer, must file a petition and an [Labor Condition Application],” according to the Department of Labor. “As a result, some H-1B workers will have multiple [Labor Condition Applications] and petitions concurrently.”