Southfield, Mich.-based Computech will also be prohibited from participating in the H-1B visa program for 18 months under an agreement announced last week by the DOL.

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.

Computech was founded in 1996, and the settlement covers violations alleged to have occurred between 1998 and 2000.

Within two years of its founding, the company had brought on more than 200 foreign workers. The company failed to pay these workers minimum required wage rates and "frequently" benched workers, the DOL said in a statement. Benching refers to the practice of not paying workers in between contracting jobs.

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