OpenAI and a subsidiary will pay $3.2M to settle claims they favored temporary visa workers over U.S. applicants. The DOJ said the companies failed to properly advertise jobs.
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The Justice Department said Tuesday that OpenAI and a subsidiary called Statsig will pay $3.2 million to resolve allegations that they discriminated against U.S. workers by favoring temporary visa holders during hiring.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the settlement ensures OpenAI redresses harm and changes its recruitment practices so U.S. workers get a fair shot at technology positions.
“It is illegal to discriminate against U.S. workers by preferring temporary visa holders for jobs,” Dhillon said in a statement.
OpenAI disagreed with the findings but settled to move forward with its PERM program, which provides immigration support for employees and candidates. A company spokesperson said the mission of making artificial general intelligence benefit all of humanity requires attracting the best talent from the United States and around the world.
The Justice Department said it found “reasonable cause” to believe both companies made it harder for U.S. workers to apply for roles the companies wanted to fill through Permanent Labor Certification, or PERM. That process lets employers sponsor temporary visa holders for permanent status only if no qualified U.S. workers are available after a good-faith search.
According to the DOJ, OpenAI and Statsig skipped several steps required in the PERM process. They did not post some openings on external job boards. They also failed to advertise the positions on late-night radio, a standard step for PERM recruitment. OpenAI required applicants for jobs it intended to fill through PERM to mail in paper applications, while it normally accepted electronic applications for other roles.
The DOJ said fewer than 10 positions were at issue across both companies. The resolution amount reflects the harm to U.S. workers shut out of applying for lucrative tech jobs, the department said.
Of the $3.2 million total, OpenAI will pay $1.2 million in civil penalties. The remaining $2 million will go into a fund to compensate victims of the practices.
The Trump administration has stepped up enforcement against companies it says misuse the visa system.
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