Baltimore school officials say the district will reimburse international teachers who paid out-of-pocket fees to obtain work visas, a practice that led the U.S. Department of Labor to order Prince George's County schools to pay nearly $6 million in penalties and back wages.
Tisha Edwards, chief of staff for the city school system, said the district has international teachers — the majority Filipino — who shouldered their own costs for immigration filings and fees associated with being recruited to the district.
However, the district could not say how much money it might have to pay back.
"If there are cases, and we know that there are some, where teachers have had any out-of-pocket expenses for visa filings, we are going to reimburse them for that, no problem," she said.
In April, the Department of Labor ordered Prince George's schools to pay $4.2 million in back wages to Filipino teachers who had to pay $1,000 in visa fees when they were hired. The county was also fined $1.7 million.
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