In an effort to enhance compliance enforcement, the Department of Labor has proposed changes to the Labor Condition Application (LCA) form, which is required for H-1B, E-3 and H-1B1 workers. Under the proposal, each LCA would be limited to only ten workers. Currently, an employer is not limited by the number of workers it may require to be covered on each LCA. Additionally, those workers would have to be listed by name, which is a significant departure from the current process. Employers now may have an LCA certified for a certain number of workers who can be identified at a later date. If any of the listed workers on the LCA has a pending PERM application, the new LCA would require that the PERM receipt number be disclosed. This suggests that the DOL may begin to cross reference the job opportunities in the nonimmigrant and immigrant cases. Finally, if any of the workers will be placed off site, the new form will require the employer to identify the end-client companies.
In addition to the increased compliance obligations, these changes would lessen the flexibility that employers have now to send employees to new work locations and will increase the DOL's LCA enforcement.
