DOJ wins $313K hiring settlement

A New Jersey recruiting firm just agreed to pay $313,420 after the United States Justice Department said its job ads shut out American workers and steered openings toward people on temporary work visas. The company is Compunnel Software Group, and the department announced the deal on April 7, 2026. (justice.gov) The government says some Compunnel ads used citizenship-status limits that federal law did not allow. According to the Justice Department, those ads excluded United States citizens and lawful permanent residents while favoring people on H-1B and other temporary visas. (justice.gov) This was not just one bad line in one posting. In the settlement, the Justice Department said a recruiter told one United States citizen it wanted “only” certain temporary visa holders for a Python Developer role, and said at least 10 other recruiters used similar limits in more than 53 additional ads or postings. (justice.gov) The money breaks into two pieces. Compunnel agreed to pay $58,000 in back pay to the United States citizen who was passed over, and $255,420 in civil penalties to the United States Treasury. (justice.gov)) The case sits under a part of the Immigration and Nationality Act that bars citizenship-status discrimination in hiring when the restriction is not required by law. The office enforcing it is the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section inside the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. (justice.gov 1) (justice.gov 2) That matters because many companies hear “work visa” and think “immigration issue,” but this case was treated as a civil-rights hiring case. The Justice Department’s position was simple: a company cannot reserve ordinary United States jobs for H-1B workers if no law requires that filter. (justice.gov) Compunnel also accepted a two-year compliance term. The settlement says the company must train and monitor recruiters and strengthen its compliance systems so future job ads do not use unlawful citizenship restrictions. (justice.gov 1) (justice.gov 2) This was the ninth settlement since the Justice Department restarted its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative in 2025. That same settlements page shows a string of 2025 and 2026 cases against technology and staffing firms over ads that limited jobs to H-1B visa holders or other specific citizenship categories. (justice.gov 1) (justice.gov 2) The pattern is easy to miss because it often shows up in recruiter shorthand instead of a formal policy. A phrase like “H-1B only” can read like workflow jargon inside staffing shops, but the Justice Department is treating that wording as evidence that protected United States workers were screened out before anyone looked at their resumes. (justice.gov) (justice.gov) For employers, the warning is not about one company in New Jersey. The warning is that a few words in a job post, a recruiter email, or a search filter can now trigger back pay, federal penalties, and years of monitoring if those words tell citizens or permanent residents not to bother applying. (justice.gov)