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Senator Schmitt Seeks Tighter H-1B, PERM Oversight
Sen. Eric Schmitt urges Labor Dept. to overhaul PERM recruitment rules, citing outdated requirements that let employers favor foreign workers over qualified Americans.
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Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) wants the Labor Department to overhaul how employers certify foreign workers for permanent U.S. jobs, arguing that outdated recruitment rules let companies bypass qualified American applicants.
In a letter to acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling, Schmitt called for modernizing the PERM labor certification process, which employers use to sponsor foreign workers for green cards. The system is supposed to prove that no qualified U.S. worker is available for the role. Schmitt said the rules have not been substantially updated in more than 20 years.
“Given dramatically reduced newspaper circulation and the prevalence of online job applications, these outdated rules let employers conceal jobs from American workers while claiming they tried to recruit domestically,” Schmitt wrote.
Eight specific changes are on the table. Employers would have to post PERM positions on their own careers page and at least one major online job platform, use the same application process as for comparable non-PERM jobs, document every U.S. applicant and explain why each was rejected, and certify that the position was not formally or informally reserved for a foreign worker. They would also have to accept electronic applications, notify recently laid-off workers who might qualify, interview those laid-off workers, and provide written reasons for turning them down.