H-1B visa employee attitude gone bad
mm in LA
12 Posts
I have had an employee here (programmer) on an H-1B visa for 2 1/2 years so far and we and we plan on having him remain with the company in an ongoing status; this employee has previously had an exemplary performance record (particularly via his work ethic and attitude). As with all employees, he is evaluated annually and if earned, given a salary increase within the company's 3-5% (last one was 5%). Over the past 8 months he has been working with 2 interns on special projects and recently began complaining about their work (or lack thereof). We noticed their declining performance as well and as the intern projects were ending we were already considering ending their internship at that time anyway. He continued to complain and asked us to terminate them now.
After discussions with him he said they had no additional work to do he wanted them terminated so we could give him the $15k per year that they were making and he would write a streamlined program to accomplish what they would do daily in future projects. When explained to him that even though we were considering ending the internship, as projects were completed, a raise of that % for any employee was not within the company's policy; especially since it would take him no more time and effort after writing this "program" nor be additional duties or a promotion to another position. We were stunned at his immature attitude and frustration with our company policies (standard business) much less that he would want to fire 2 people and believe he could just "assume" their payroll.
He has now done a complete 180 explaining from his previously demonstrated attitude over the past years and told us that if he cannot get this raise of at least $1k per month to purchase a 2nd car for his wife (he lives 10 minutes from work) that he will not take on any additional assignments. He'll just do his basic work over 8 hours and leave (and with a very poor attitude I might add.) We are a small company (10 employees) located in the greater New Orleans area and after all we have been through our entire staff has been hand picked over the years because we all know that attitude and going above and beyond is the expectation here. No one is allowed to say "that's not my department." I am truly surprised that he has pulled this now as his visa is up for renewal and we were contemplating assisting him with additional costs for this renewal) a total of $3k or so (of which we are only responsible to pay 1/2). He has purchased a home, his family is comfortable in a country club community, they travel, etc. It seems extremely out of character for this employee as his wife is pushing him for a raise. We are paying more than fair wages for his work and paid all expenses to bring him to the US and then some.
I know we should treat him as any other employee when it comes to this attitude and work ethic issue but it is a little different in that I don't want to appear threatening (or using his renewal in any way) in the midst if his visa renewal.
My apology for this long drawn out account but has anyone else dealt with this scenario? (H visa employee gone sour?)I am sure wants to remain here with his family and he is in the process of applying for citizenship. Any experience or advice would be appreciated.
After discussions with him he said they had no additional work to do he wanted them terminated so we could give him the $15k per year that they were making and he would write a streamlined program to accomplish what they would do daily in future projects. When explained to him that even though we were considering ending the internship, as projects were completed, a raise of that % for any employee was not within the company's policy; especially since it would take him no more time and effort after writing this "program" nor be additional duties or a promotion to another position. We were stunned at his immature attitude and frustration with our company policies (standard business) much less that he would want to fire 2 people and believe he could just "assume" their payroll.
He has now done a complete 180 explaining from his previously demonstrated attitude over the past years and told us that if he cannot get this raise of at least $1k per month to purchase a 2nd car for his wife (he lives 10 minutes from work) that he will not take on any additional assignments. He'll just do his basic work over 8 hours and leave (and with a very poor attitude I might add.) We are a small company (10 employees) located in the greater New Orleans area and after all we have been through our entire staff has been hand picked over the years because we all know that attitude and going above and beyond is the expectation here. No one is allowed to say "that's not my department." I am truly surprised that he has pulled this now as his visa is up for renewal and we were contemplating assisting him with additional costs for this renewal) a total of $3k or so (of which we are only responsible to pay 1/2). He has purchased a home, his family is comfortable in a country club community, they travel, etc. It seems extremely out of character for this employee as his wife is pushing him for a raise. We are paying more than fair wages for his work and paid all expenses to bring him to the US and then some.
I know we should treat him as any other employee when it comes to this attitude and work ethic issue but it is a little different in that I don't want to appear threatening (or using his renewal in any way) in the midst if his visa renewal.
My apology for this long drawn out account but has anyone else dealt with this scenario? (H visa employee gone sour?)I am sure wants to remain here with his family and he is in the process of applying for citizenship. Any experience or advice would be appreciated.
Comments
In regards to the interns not performing adequately then he should look to his own managerial skills as they were working for him. Correct? Perhaps he neglected them and they took his lead with having poor performance. For all you know, they could have thought that their performance was what was to be expected with a supervisor/manager who wasn't performing his own duties. I would have a meeting with the interns, employee in question and then all three to see just what everyone's expectations of the job entailed and where the problem areas lie. I realize that the interns may no longer be there in which case I would do an exit interview and get the information here. I would guess it's a perception of what the job is especially since this programmer feels that he can write up something to do the job of the interns. This may be due to the fact that he now has a better understanding of what they did or did not do but that's not the issue. It's the employee's performance that is the issue. Also if he chooses to only work for 8 hours each day then so be it as long as the work is getting done on time.
Every employee is replaceable. The sooner he realizes that then better for both you as the employer and for him as the employee. Good Luck!
I would advise you to follow your procedure, document and counsel before taking any other action.
You mentioned he is a programmer and you are a small company. Considering the major attitude change, could you be at risk from either a hidden back door, data theft, or virus that he could implement? I don't like to assume the worst in people and you should have reasonable protections in place anyway but with the entitlement mentality he is showing and wanting the interns fired it does raise some concern because of his computer access.
>am truly surprised that he has pulled this now
>as his visa is up for renewal and we were
>contemplating assisting him with additional
>costs for this renewal) a total of $3k or so (of
>which we are only responsible to pay 1/2). He
>has purchased a home, his family is comfortable
>in a country club community, they travel, etc.
>It seems extremely out of character for this
>employee as his wife is pushing him for a raise.
>We are paying more than fair wages for his work
>and paid all expenses to bring him to the US and
>then some.
I agree with everyone else - treat him as you would any employee.
But I am wondering about your statement that you're only responsible for half of his H1B renewal fees. USCIS is pretty clear that the employer must pay all the fees for H1B.
Also keep in mind, if you do terminate him it is your responsibility to provide him with travel to his home country.