The Department of Labor is investigating whether a company that employs workers who process citizenship applications in Vermont and California violated federal regulations by cutting their pay when a new contract with Stanley Associates begins Monday. Two hundred employees in Vermont, half the workforce, will have their earnings slashed, Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a letter last week to Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao. He asked for the investigation into whether the Virginia-based contractor is violating a federal law guaranteeing that federal contract workers receive prevailing wages and benefits. Ironically, these are the same workers the federal government is counting on to alleviate huge application backlogs. “Not only is it wrong for the workers, it’s wrong for what we’re trying to do for homeland security,” Sanders told WCAX-TV. “These people are doing really important jobs. “There’s a great backlog in the kinds of cases they’re dealing with. To tell them that at a time when we want to fight terrorism and protect America that oh, by the way, we’re cutting your wages, we’re going to demoralize you, that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me.”

This process started with workers reaching out to Senator Sanders’ office to express their concerns and frustration. Now they have their Senator on their side. If you too have a problem you think we should know about or can help with, please contact the Senator’s office.