The U.S. Department of Labor plans to investigate whether H-1B workers can be used to replace U.S. IT workers, according to U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) and Jeff Sessions (R-Ala). Both lawmakers have been leading a call for a probe of the controversial program.

Their comments Thursday about the Labor Department’s plans come at a time when many IT workers are simmering with outrage and fury over their replacement by foreign workers on H-1B visas. Until very recently, the practice has been largely ignored by the U.S. government.

The Labor Department move follows an earlier request by 10 U.S. lawmakers to look into the displacement of IT workers at Southern California Edison (SCE). The utility hired two India-based IT services firms, Infosys and Tata Consultancy Services, for the job. Both firms are large users of the H-1B visa. Approximately 500 workers were displaced by the utility, most of them through layoffs.

To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

…