US firm to pay $1.1 mn in back wages to 600 H1-B workers including Indians

An American employment service company has agreed to pay $1.1 million in back wages to nearly 600 H-1B employees, a large number of whom are highly-skilled Indian IT professionals.

This follows an investigation by the Department of Labour’s Wage and Hour Division which found that Populus Group failed to pay H-1B employees required wages when worksites were shut down for holidays.

In addition to paying the back wages, Populus Group – based in Troy, Michigan — will review past and current payroll records to ensure compliance with programme requirements.

In all, 594 H-1B employees will receive their back wages, an official statement said.