DOL Orders Reinstatement, Back Pay and Benefits for Whistleblower Under Employee Protections in the Immigration and Nationality Act

The Department of Labor (DOL) held that employers are prohibited from retaliating against immigrant whistleblowers under the employee protection clause of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).  The DOL ordered the Fargo Veteran’s Affairs Medical Center to reinstate a doctor and pay him back pay and benefits for violating the employee protection provisions of the INA.  A second complainant settled with the VA. 

The VA discriminated against two doctors by terminating them in retaliation for cooperating with a DOL investigation.  The investigation discovered that the VA failed to pay a prevailing wage to doctors working under H-1B visas in violation of INA.

For information on The Employment Law Group® law firm’s Whistleblower practice, click here.  The Decision and Order is available at Talukdar v. U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, Medical and Regional Office Center, Fargo, North Dakota, ARB No. 04-100, ALJ No. 2002-LCA-25 (ARB Jan. 31, 2007).

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