Technology staffing firm People Tech Group Inc. will pay 12 employees $309,914 and an additional $45,564 in civil penalties after an investigation found it violated labor provisions of the H-1B visa program, the US Department of Labor announced Thursday.

Bellevue, Wash.-based People Tech paid entry-level wages to H-1B computer analysts and programmers who should have received higher prevailing rates based on the more complex work they performed, according to the department.

“The intent of the H-1B foreign labor certification program is to help American companies find the highly skilled talent they need when they can prove that a shortage of US workers exists,” said Wage and Hour Division Acting District Director Carrie Aguilar in Seattle. “The resolution of this case demonstrates our commitment to safeguard American jobs, level the playing field for law-abiding employers, and ensure no one is being paid less than they are legally owed.”