It all started on November 30, 2009 when a representative of Apex Technology Group demanded in an email that the administrator of Endh1b.com provide Apex with the contact information for Mr. Pankaj Jain, an original poster from desicruch.com, an Indian tech worker web site.
Apex also requested that the reposted comments from Mr. Jain be removed from Endh1b.com, an American tech worker web site.
The administrator of Endh1b.com refused stating,"We are not in the business of helping exploitative Desi bodyshops target their H-1B victims for harassment, retribution, or violence."
It ended on Wednesday, December 23rd when New Jersey Judge P. Hurley ordered Facebook, Yahoo, and Comcast to reveal the identities of two John Does associated with Endh1b.com. It also ordered three web sites shut down.
If this order stands, it will rob the security every American expects when they post complaints anonymously or express their opinions on-line. It will create a credible threat that Americans could face retaliation from any current or former employer.
Endh1b.com's hosting company has already complied with the order and shut down the site.
I’m astonished that an American judge would force American web sites to rat on American workers who wouldn’t snitch on an Indian H-1b.
Mr. Jain posted the bond contract he was forced to sign; it has since been removed. Bond contracts indenture an employee to the company for a specified length of time. If the employee leaves the company, her/she is forced to pay exorbitant fees to leave the company.
Endh1b.com reposted an abbreviated version of this post:
http://ripoffatapextgi.blogspot.com/
Here's the original email from Apex requesting Endh1b.com remove the repost from Desicrunch.com. Note in the email message they twice request the administrator at endh1b.com to reveal the identity of an anonymous poster, believed to be a former employee of Apex.
Dear Sir or Madam;
On 11/23/2009 Apex Technology Group, Inc. came to an attention about your website www.endh1b.com which provided artificial and untruthful statement to the public which can’t even confirmed by this specific indiduals who claim himself as Mr. Pankaj Jain and is defaming Apex Technology Group reputation in many other websites which are currently cooperating with our Attorney.
I would like to bring this to you attention that our Attorney has went forward with legal proceedings against this culprit. As per you if owner is not responsible for the information posted on this website has full right to remove the article requested by Apex TGI.
I am disappointed because your services didn’t check the authenticity of the person who posted our legal document which has defamed our Apex Technology Group’s image and could lead to heavy losses to the revenue which has reputation and been in the business since 2001.
To further minimizing the damage to Apex Technology Group’s reputation I purpose you remove the article linked to your website.
I further request you to provide us the contact details of the individual who posted this legal agreement without permission since we are the copyright owner of the legal document.
We request that you investigate the substance of our complaint, and provide us with the contact details of the individual in fault, pursuant to Section 512(f) of the DMCA, any person who knowingly materially misrepresents that material or activity is infringing may be subject to liability, as suggested in your website, if these allegation are found valid. Please respond to us in writing.
To resolve the problem I would appreciate and require you to take the action to remove the link attached below:
http://endh1b.com/...
I look forward to hearing from you and to a resolution of this problem. I will wait till 12/04/2009 before arranging for the matter to be removed from your website by a third party (Company’s Attorney) at your cost or seeking help from Consumer Protection Agency. Please feel free to reach me for any further inquiries at the contact information below.
Thanks and Regards
Shawn Gibson
HR/Legal Department
Apex Technology Group Inc.
2 Kilmer Road., Suite# C
Edison, NJ 08817
Tel: (732) 572-1800
Direct: (732) 964-1300
Fax: (732) 572-7900
Website: www.apextgi.com
Email: Shawn.Gibson@apextgi.com
Please consider the environment before printing this email.
John Doe, named in the order and the administrator of Endh1b.com stated, "I am not going to back down. I am not here to help hunt down Indian H-1Bs who have been exploited by companies like Apex. I will fight this to the end."
Explaining his position, John Doe stated, "My sites have served American I.T. professionals who have felt silenced and marginalized by the off-shoring/outsourcing lobby. I owe it to them, and every single American, to stand up to the agents of intimidation who want to silence me and other Americans. Only by speaking out can we control and shape our destiny."
"Apex and Judge P. Hurley can pry my freedom of speech from my cold, dead hands."
Techgoss.com, an Indian tech worker web site that was first to cover the developing story, is supporting American tech workers at endh1b.com who are standing up against these strong-arm tactics. The editor at Techgoss, Bala Shah, stated in an email, "While we may not agree with you on some points, we certainly respect your freedoms to blog and write what you feel like."
I applaud Mr. Shah's stance. Indians are horrified that the bullying they are accustom to has followed them to American shores. They've discovered that the threats and intimidation they have long endured has now made the world flat.
This is the first time that Indian and American tech workers across the political spectrum have united in support of freedom of speech and freedom from an employer’s intimidation. This seminal moment will undoubtedly encourage some Indian h-1bs to challenge the bond contracts that tie them to employers and the entire bench system.
We at Bright Future Jobs have made it our mission to reveal the 20 years of legal discrimination against highly-skilled American technical talent allowed under corporate visa programs. Tech companies prefer to hire technical workers who cannot or will not stand up against an intimidating boss. Americans would never sign a contract binding them to one employer.
Now that the routine intimidation of foreign workers is aimed at American workers, Congress, policy wonks, and the American media will finally understand that no nation can remain strong when its citizens can’t fairly compete for job openings in their own country that they are qualified to do.
This incident is a turning point in the struggle to end the discrimination of American workers which has opened the door to the exploitation of citizens from abroad.
Politicos who have supported these corporate visa programs or stood on the sidelines now face "blowback"; the costs and consequence of ignoring the displacement and marginalization of half a million STEM professionals while our universities produce more STEM graduates than the tech industry is willing to hire.
This incident will provide a new sense of urgency for passing S.2804, the Employ America Act, sponsored by Senators Grassley and Sanders. It will ensure that Senator Durbin's H-1b & L-1 reform provisions of S.887 remain in the final HR 4321 Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR ASAP) bill.
To find out why Apex Technology Group wanted to hunt down Mr. Jain, read my original post about bonded employment contracts that Indian H-1bs are routinely forced to comply with. The order is on this diary.
Intimidation of Foreign Workers Now Directed at Americans: Facebook, Yahoo, Comcast Drawn In
http://www.dailykos.com/...
FYI: An H-1b is a citizen from abroad that has been hired to fill a US job opening. Corporations can legally bypass US talent, recruiting only abroad to fill top-dollar, white collar jobs ranging from $50k to $150K. AFL-CIO reports that the average salary is $65K.
Corporations can also displace an American with a foreign worker with these corporate visa programs. Senators Sanders and Durbin have been champions working in the Senate to stop this abuse.