From Ron Hira:
“Read this important case Dept of Labor’s OFCCP v. Oracle, a Silicon Valley icon, alleging the firm’s “extreme preferences” for visa workers. It leads to discrimination of women and underrepresented minorities. Oracle’s CEO Mark Hurd has publicly advocated for more guestworker visas. Why? As OFCCP makes plain – guestworkers are cheaper.
The case casts doubt over the tech industry’s claims that its difficulty in diversifying its workforce stems from a dearth of women and minorities who can do the work. Silicon Valley blames its diversity problems on others – US students and workers, educators, and the government – when in fact the problem lies squarely with the industry’s own hiring practices and preferences.
Remember industry’s key argument for more cheap H-1B and OPT guestworkers is a shortage of US talent. That argument completely falls apart in the face of OFCCP’s findings . Industry is using the visa programs for cheaper guestworkers – undercutting US workers, damaging the US talent pipeline, and exacerbating its woeful record on workforce diversity. Silicon Valley’s woeful record on diversity is of its own making”.