Greater MO Medical P.C.P. v. Perez, No. 14-3717 (8th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseGMM appealed the district court's decision to uphold a financial decision and order of the DOL ARB that found GMM violated several provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), 8 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., relating to the H-1B visa program. GMM also appealed the award of damages and interest to some GMM workers. The court found that the Secretary’s expansive understanding of his investigatory authority is inconsistent with the plain language and structure of section 1182(n). The court concluded that the Secretary’s authority to conduct an initial investigation under section 1182(n)(2)(A) is based upon the Secretary finding reasonable cause to believe the employer’s specific misconduct as alleged in the complaint violates the INA. That reasonable-cause finding limits the scope of the initial investigation. In this case, the Secretary’s current standard practice has the practical effect of converting every aggrieved-party complaint into a comprehensive compliance review without the procedural safeguards of section 1182(n)(2)(G)(i). Because the ARB’s findings of violations and the resulting awards were based entirely on the Secretary’s unauthorized investigation of matters other than the allegation GMM penalized the complainant for quitting before her contract ran out, the awards cannot stand. Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
Court Description: Riley, Author, with Bye and Gruender, Circuit Judges] Civil case - Immigration and Nationality Act. The Secretary's broad interpretation of his authority to investigate an aggrieved party complaint under 8 U.S.C. Sec. 1182(n)(2)(A) is inconsistent with the statute's plain language and structure and has the practical effect of converting every aggrieved-party request into a comprehensive compliance review without the procedural safeguards of 8 U.S.C. Sec 1182(n)(2)(G)(i); the Administrative Review Board's findings and penalties in this case were based entirely on the Secretary's unauthorized investigation of matters other than the initial allegation that the employer penalized the complainant for quitting before her contract ran out and they are set aside; remanded to the district court for proceedings consistent with the opinion.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.