Given the poor shape of the U.S. economy, fraudulent H-1B employers are likely to adopt new tricks, or to increase the use of old ones, with benched H-1B workers.
If you have been benched, your employer may approach you and ask you to sign a document that falsely states that you took voluntary leave (e.g. vacation leave, medical or family leave) when in fact you were benched due to the employer’s failure to provide work. Some employers back-date these forms, and ask H-1B employees not only to pretend that their lack of work time was voluntary, but also to falsely state that they had asked for the “voluntary” leave many months in the past.
If your H-1B employer presents you with a form asking you to sign off on false statements about taking leave- or asks you to state false information of any kind- don’t do it.
Below are links to posts about dealing with H-1B employer requests to falsify information and dealing with issues relating to being benched. There are better potential options to consider than those offered by an employer soliciting false information.
