The company, which is settling the dispute without admitting to any of the allegations, agreed to pay $2.25 million in back wages to employees in amounts ranging from less than $2,000 to more than $40,000.

The settlement may be the largest back-wage payment ordered under the federal H-1B visa program, according to Brad Mitchell, a Labor Department spokesman.

Opponents of the H-1B program argue that foreign workers that companies bring in for high-tech positions are taking U.S. jobs. However, Computech President Ram Kancharla said the company hired the workers during the technology boom years to meet the need for workers with Java- and Web-related skills.

Kancharla wouldn't disclose the number of H-1B workers the company now uses but said most of the employees involved in the settlement have left the firm.

Workers abroad