Axios reports that the Trump administration’s plan to overhaul wage levels for visa holders is impacting hospitals that rely heavily on foreign-born staff.
It reports that the U.S. Department of Labor is focused on changing how it calculates “fair minimum pay” for workers on visas such as H-1Bs and green card sponsorship jobs. Axios states that the administration’s desire to make it more difficult for companies to obtain cheaper labor via visa programs could have “an outsized effect” on health systems that sponsor foreign-trained workers, particularly in underserved rural areas. It notes that approximately 16% of RNs nationwide are foreign-born, according to one analysis.
“Critics say the change won't adequately account for regional wage differences or experience levels,” writes Axios. “They also warn a higher wage requirement will force employers to raise pay for U.S. workers to comply with labor laws — and make it unsustainable to hire foreign-born talent.”
A staffing firm CEO told Axios that wage rates for visa-holding nurses could rise 25% to 35% in certain markets, or from about $40 an hour to more than $50 an hour.
Read the full Axios report here.
