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November 27, 2000

Temporary Workers Help Shortage, But Could Be Exploited

Illustration by Janusz Kapusta

mployment contractors, often called "body shops," provide a useful service to employers by supplying IT workers with specific skills on a temporary basis. They're a labor pool for companies requiring Java programmers and Web developers, for example, or help in deploying an enterprise resource planning application.

Sharon Coker, VP of human resources for Respond.com Inc., a Web shopping portal company in Palo Alto, Calif., uses temporary workers for two reasons: to get projects into production quickly, and to determine if a worker might be a good match as a permanent hire. "When you're directly sponsoring an H-1B visa application, sometimes it's a great match; sometimes it isn't, and you make the best of it," she says.

While the majority of contract agencies are legitimate and adhere to H-1B guidelines, a few are under investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and state and federal labor departments for a variety of abuses. Allegations are that unscrupulous recruiters may accept bribes from unqualified workers seeking jobs, or they may counterfeit college degrees and references.

Paul Fitzpatrick, CEO of employment contractor Spire Systems, says he provides a useful service to labor-strapped Silicon Valley companies. Most of the foreign workers he places work as temporary IT consultants for enterprise resource planning implementations and E-commerce developments. "Where else will a company find 10 or 12 people in one shot to work on a project for six months?" he asks.

Still, there's room for "exploitation against the spirit of the H-1B law," says Hal Salzman, a senior research scientist at the Center for Industrial Competitiveness, University of Massachusetts, Lowell. Based on his research for the National Academy of

Sciences Committee, Salzman says those who benefit most from the H-1B visa process often aren't the IT workers or the companies that sponsor them, but the contract agencies that fuel the demand for temporary workers, as well as companies that operate offshore companies to supply the talent.