A 3.2 million dollars hiring settlement with the Justice Department
The US Department of Justice announced a 3.2 million dollars settlement with OpenAI and its subsidiary Statsig to resolve allegations of violating the Immigration and Nationality Act during the permanent labor certification (PERM) process. According to the department, OpenAI failed to advertise certain PERM positions on its official careers site, required paper applications for those specific roles while accepting electronic submissions for other jobs, and in some instances aired radio advertisements late at night. The Justice Department stated that these recruitment practices discouraged qualified US applicants while favoring foreign workers entering on temporary visas. Of the total 3.2 million dollars payout, 1.2 million dollars represents civil administrative penalties, while 2 million dollars is allocated as compensation for job seekers affected by the alleged hiring discrimination. Under the agreement, OpenAI pledged to revise its hiring guidelines, institute mandatory workforce training, and submit to ongoing Department of Justice oversight. The company denied all wrongdoing within the settlement agreement, which does not constitute a criminal conviction. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division stated that preferring temporary visa holders over US workers violates federal law and that the settlement rectifies the resulting harm.[1]
