Sun's Turkey Trot Around the Truth

Date: Thursday, November 28, 2002 12:53 PM

H-1B and JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

Two articles have recently appeared about Guy Santiglia's efforts to bring
legal actions against Sun Microsystems. American workers at Sun were
replaced by H-1Bs and he wants our government to do something about it.
Santiglia has filed separate complaints to the Dept. of Justice (DOJ) and
the Dept. of Labor (DOL). In the meantime Sun is doing a Turkey Trot around
the truth to minimize the damage to it's reputation.

The first article by Pimentel is a one sided report that is nothing more
than a regurgitation of Sun's corporate PR department. Boudreau's article
follows the first one and is better because the reporter contacted Santiglia
and asked for his view on where the complaints are headed.

1. The title, "Complaint Against Sun Ended", is false and therefore
misleading. The complaint hasn't ended, it's just getting started. It might
be one year before this case is actually heard before a Department of
Justice judge. Sun's dismissal of the facts will not end their problems.

2. The Bay area press minimizes the seriousness of Sun's actions by calling
it a "clerical error". Sun's attorneys are the ones that passed off these
violations as a petty error and unfortunately the press blindly accepts
their spin. The labor department said that Sun violated federal regulations
on H-1B and that kind of accusation would never be called a "clerical error"
by anyone except corporate spin doctors and lap dog journalists.

3. Sun's problems are just beginning but you sure wouldn't know it by the
title of either of these articles. A group of people are working on a class
action lawsuit that accuses Sun of replacing it's American workers with
H-1Bs. This lawsuit may be far larger and more expensive to Sun than
anything Santiglia is doing.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2002/11/27/BU115607.DTL&type=business

SUN CLEARED OF H-1B CHARGES

Sun Microsystems said Tuesday that federal agencies have cleared it of
charges that it violated laws regulating the hiring of temporary foreign
workers on H-1B visas.

The Santa Clara firm said the U.S. Department of Labor has denied the appeal
of former Sun employee Guy Santiglia, who had accused the company of bias
against U.S. citizens when it laid off 3,900 workers late last year, said
spokeswoman Diane Carlini.

The Labor Department had earlier ruled that Sun committed a clerical error
when it failed to post H-1B notices, but the company did not break the law.

Carlini said other allegations of discrimination filed by Santiglia with
such agencies as the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Civil Rights and
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have also been dismissed.

One complaint with the EEOC is still on hold, but Sun plans to request
dismissal, Carlini said.

-- Ben Pimentel

http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/4624254.htm

Complaint against Sun ended
JUSTICE DEPT. DROPS VISA INVESTIGATION
By John Boudreau
Mercury News

The Justice Department has ended its investigation into Sun Microsystems'
use of H-1B work visas, dismissing a complaint made in April by a laid-off
Sun engineer.

The engineer, Guy Santiglia, 37, lost his job in 2001 when Sun laid off
3,900 workers. He charged that Sun discriminated against U.S. citizens and
favored H-1B visa holders during the layoffs and in hiring it did after
that. H-1B visas allow foreigners to work temporarily in the United States.

Santiglia said that late last week, he received a curt e-mail from the
government: ``This is to inform you that the U.S. Department of Justice has
decided not to file a complaint with the Office of the Chief Administrative
Hearing Officer in the above-referenced case. The Department's dismissal
letters will be forthcoming.''

Santiglia now lives in Montana, where he hopes to start a business. ``I knew
this was a possibility,'' he said. ``I think the decision was more political
than based on the merits of the investigation and the complaint.''

Santiglia has requested a hearing on the case from a federal administrative
law judge.

A Justice Department spokesman couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

Sun spokeswoman Diane Carlini said the Santa Clara server and software
company is pleased with the government's decision. ``We never felt there was
ever any wrongdoing,'' she said. ``We felt confident that we would be
cleared. We did everything to follow the law.''

In a separate complaint filed by Santiglia, the Labor Department found in
October that Sun made a clerical error in failing to post notices about its
hiring of foreign workers but did not break the law. Santiglia has appealed
that finding, and a hearing has been scheduled for mid-December.

The continued use of H1-B workers during the tech recession, which has led
to the layoffs of thousands of U.S. citizens, has intensified complaints
about the program. The program was intended to help employers deal with a
shortage of qualified technical workers in the U.S.

``We realize there are a lot of sensitivities around these issues,'' Carlini
said. ``We are eager to put it behind us.''

Carlini added that Sun harbors no ill will toward Santiglia. ``We hope that
he finds another job,'' she said.

Help to Keep ZaZona.com Online

Donate to the Cause at
http://www.zazona.com/Donations.htm

Back to archives