On Monday, August 3, the technology company OpenAI reached a $3.2 million settlement agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ). Previously, the DOJ accused OpenAI and its subsidiary Statsig of favoring foreign workers during the process of applying for Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) from the Department of Labor (DOL). The DOJ’s Civil Rights Division announced this settlement agreement on Tuesday.
PERM is the crucial first step for U.S. employers to apply for employment-based green cards (EB-2 or EB-3) for foreign workers, typically H-1B visa holders. Before applying for PERM, employers must make sincere efforts to recruit qualified U.S. workers.
Administered by the DOL, PERM’s main responsibility is to protect the U.S. labor market and employment opportunities for American workers.
Federal investigators confirmed that OpenAI did not post information on certain PERM-related positions on its public recruitment website, refused electronic applications, required applicants to submit paper applications, and in some cases, released recruitment advertisements late at night.
The DOJ stated that these practices hindered American workers from applying for these positions. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in a statement announcing the settlement agreement, “Prioritizing temporary visa holders over American workers is illegal.”
Under the settlement agreement, OpenAI will pay a civil fine of $1.2 million and establish a $2 million backpay fund to compensate employees harmed by the recruitment practices identified by investigators.
Furthermore, the company agreed to modify its recruitment procedures, post PERM positions on its public recruitment website, accept electronic applications, revise its hiring policies, provide immigration-related anti-discrimination training for employees, and comply with federal oversight and reporting requirements.
The settlement agreement will remain in effect for three years, during which OpenAI and Statsig will be subject to DOJ supervision and reporting requirements to ensure compliance with federal anti-discrimination recruitment laws related to the PERM process.
According to the settlement agreement, OpenAI denies any wrongdoing and does not admit to violating federal laws. However, investigators have reasonable grounds to believe that OpenAI engaged in discriminatory practices related to citizenship applications, which are linked to multiple PERM-related recruitment advertisements published since at least 2023.
A spokesperson for OpenAI stated in a release to News Weekly that the company disagrees with the government’s findings but chose to reach a settlement agreement.
The spokesperson mentioned, “OpenAI’s mission is to ensure beneficial General Artificial Intelligence (AGI) for all humanity. To achieve this mission and maintain America’s leading position in the field of artificial intelligence, it is necessary to attract and retain top talent from the United States and around the world.”
The statement further noted, “While we disagree with the Department of Justice’s investigation findings, we have reached this agreement to resolve the matter and advance our PERM program, which is crucial for employees and job seekers in need of immigration support.”
The DOJ’s investigation into OpenAI began after News Weekly contacted the DOJ based on recruitment advertisements shared by the company in August 2025.
According to an investigative report by News Weekly in August 2025, some companies, including OpenAI, took certain measures when applying for PERM and sponsoring employees for occupational green cards. These companies made it difficult for ordinary job seekers to find these job opportunities by placing required recruitment advertisements in newspapers and other channels rarely seen by most modern job seekers. Employers appeared to advertise and recruit, but actually intended to secure green cards for specific foreign workers.
Jobs Now is a website dedicated to exposing potential abuses in the H-1B PERM process and distributing recruitment information to American workers. A spokesperson for the website stated, “Last year, we saw OpenAI recruitment ads asking applicants to submit resumes by paper mail to their Global Mobility department, which typically handles immigration processing rather than recruitment, and this raised concerns for us.”
The DOJ’s charges against OpenAI mainly focused on similar issues.
The settlement agreement indicates that investigators found that some applicants for PERM positions had to mail paper applications, while others accepted electronic applications, creating additional barriers not mandated by federal immigration regulations.
A spokesperson for Jobs Now stated, “While providing a $2 million backpay fund to affected American workers is a valuable compensation, the size of the fine is too small to deter widespread abuse of PERM applications by large tech companies and other industries. Facebook and Apple reached similar settlements in 2021 and 2023 regarding PERM-based recruitment strategies, but OpenAI continues to employ these tactics.”
(This article references reporting by News Weekly)