US Tech Firm Fined for Underpaying Indian Workers

A Silicon Valley company is paying more than $43,000 in back wages and penalties after labor regulators found eight employees brought from India were grossly underpaid and overworked while assigned to a special project in the U.S.

The probe, announced this week by the U.S Department of Labor, uncovered several violations at Electronics for Imaging Inc., a printing technology specialist that generated revenue of $728 million last year, when the misconduct occurred.

Among other things, Electronics for Imaging paid the eight workers far below California’s required minimum wage – $8 per hour at the time – while they helped the company move its headquarters from Foster City, California, to Fremont, California, during a three-month period, according to the Labor Department.

While assigned to the project, some of the Indian workers logged as many as 122 hours in a week without being paid overtime. As result, they received as little as $1.21 per hour.

Electronics for Imaging says it “unintentionally overlooked” U.S. laws requiring foreign workers to be paid at least minimum wage, with overtime for more than 40 weekly hours on the job. Instead, the company gave the Indians unspecified bonuses while paying the transferred workers the same wages they normally received in their normal jobs in Bangalore, India. The workers were even paid in rupees while in the U.S.

Although it is not among Silicon Valley’s high-profile companies, Electronics for Imaging is successful. The company earned $109 million last year, and awarded CEO Guy Gecht with a pay package valued at nearly $6 million, including more than $1.2 million in salary and bonuses.

Electronics for Imaging is paying more than $40,000 in back wages and damages to the eight Indian workers, and a $3,520 fine.

This article appeared in print in the October 24th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.