Husted introduces bill to modernize H-1B wage threshold and protect American workers

“American workers should always come first, and this bill closes an outdated loophole that lets companies bypass them.” WASHINGTON – Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio) introduced the Protecting American Workers Through H-1B Modernization Act, a bill that would update the outdated salary threshold used to determine when H-1B dependent employers must prioritize hiring American workers. “ For decades, companies have been able to sidestep hiring American workers because of a salary threshold that hasn’t budged since 1998. That’s not modernization, that’s a loophole. This bill simply asks that when a company is heavily reliant on these visas and wants to bring in more H-1B workers, they shouldn’t be relying on an outdated law to get around offering these jobs to qualified American workers first,” said Husted. Under current law, H-1B dependent employers, companies whose H-1B share of their workforce exceeds a particular threshold, must attest that they have first tried to hire American workers before sponsoring additional H-1B visas. However, employers are exempted if they pay the H-1B worker at least $60,000 per year, or if the worker holds a master’s degree or higher. The $60,000 threshold was set in 1998 and was intended to be twice the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) National Average Wage Index at the time. It has never been adjusted for inflation. Today, the SSA National Average Wage Index is nearly $70,000, meaning the original threshold, adjusted for inflation, would be nearly $140,000. The Protecting American Workers Through H-1B Modernization Act would replace the fixed $60,000 threshold with a dynamic standard equal to two times the national average wage index, as calculated by the Social Security Administration. This would ensure the threshold keeps pace with wage growth going forward, rather than remaining frozen in place.