The Federal Reserve recently issued guidance in the form of an FAQ for employers who accept funds under Section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act (FRA) as part of the Employ American Workers Act.
Although the government has published a list of TARP recipients, no such comprehensive list of FRA Section 13 recipients exists. However, in its new guidance, the government explains which entities are considered to be recipients of Section 13 funds. The determination depends upon the type of borrowing arrangement between the entity and the Federal Reserve. Interestingly, the guidance explains that once a recipient has paid back the funds received under Section 13, they are no longer subject to the H-1B additional attestation requirements.
Employers that receive funding under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) or FRA Section 13 funding will be required to take additional steps when filing H-1B temporary worker petitions with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. Specifically, these employers will be required to make attestations as part of the H-1B application that they took good faith steps to recruit U.S. workers for the position for which the H-1B worker is sought and that no U.S. worker was displaced by the H-1B worker in an equivalent position.
