Employment Law Update: U.S. Department of Labor to Step-up Compliance Audits of H-1B Program Participants
Date: October 30, 2025
On September 19, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced Project Firewall. This initiative reflects a strengthening of investigative efforts to ensure employer compliance with their obligations under the H-1B visa program.
The H-1B visa program allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in “specialty occupations” in the U.S, specifically, in occupations where a bachelor’s degree or greater in a specific field is a requirement for the job. Employers who successfully petition for, and hire H-1B workers, however, are also subject to a number of specific legal requirements, including detailed wage requirements and related obligations, posting of notice to U.S. employees, and an attestation that the hiring of the H-1B worker will not adversely affect U.S. workers.
The announcement highlights the intent of DOL to “ensure no employers are abusing H-1B visas at the expense of [the U.S.] workforce,” and to “root” out “fraud and abuse … [to] ensure that highly skilled jobs go to Americans first.”
Project Firewall will consist of not only stepped-up investigative efforts, but also “Secretary-certified investigations, where there is “reasonable cause” to believe that an employer is not complying with its obligations. Employers found to be in violation may incur civil money penalties, temporary debarment from future participation in the H-1B program, and/or payment of back wages owed to affected workers. The DOL will administer Project Firewall in collaboration with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
This initiative is a clear signal of DOL’s intent not only to increase enforcement activity but also to emphasize likely coordination with other agencies where the DOL has reason to believe U.S. workers are being disfavored in favor of hiring foreign workers. This increase in enforcement activity, therefore, raises not only program compliance issues, but also Wage & Hour and EEO concerns.
Employers who sponsor H-1B workers should:
- Ensure their workers’ wages are equal to the greater of the local prevailing wage or the rate paid to other employees with similar experience and qualifications.
- Guarantee compliance with the requirement to provide notice to U.S. workers of their intent to hire foreign workers.
- Identify and have at the ready documents that must be available for public inspection as required by applicable regulation, including appropriate Labor Condition Applications, evidence of the wage rate paid to both U.S. and H-1B workers in similar occupations, and proof of compliance with the notice requirements.
- Review their H-1B policies and practices to verify compliance with all other H-1B requirements.
Project Firewall is not the only recent initiative involving the H-1B program. A recent announcement of a $100,000 fee for new H-1B applications filed after September 21, 2025, has caused a wave of concern regarding the continuing viability of the program. This issue, which is the subject of recently updated guidance, will be discussed in an upcoming Employment Law Update.
Whiteford is closely monitoring these developments. Employers with compliance concerns or questions about how this will affect your organization should contact Whiteford’s Labor and Employment Team.
*Senior Law Clerk
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