OpenAI pays $3.2M DOJ settlement

The Justice Department said on August 4 that OpenAI and its subsidiary Statsig agreed to pay $3.2 million to settle allegations that they discriminated against U.S. workers during hiring tied to the federal PERM labor-certification process. The department said the companies favored workers with temporary employment visas by using recruiting steps that made it harder for U.S. applicants to find and apply for certain jobs. OpenAI said it disputed the government’s view, but agreed to the settlement and changes to its hiring procedures. The case centers on a narrow part of employment-based immigration law, but the allegations turned on ordinary mechanics: where jobs were posted and how applications were accepted. ### How did the government say the hiring process worked? The Justice Department said OpenAI did not advertise some PERM-related positions on its external careers website even though it normally posted other openings there. The department also said the company required paper applications by mail for those PERM jobs while allowing electronic applications for other roles. (justice.gov) DOJ said OpenAI also took “other steps” to discourage U.S. workers, including running radio advertisements late at night for some positions. The agency said those practices violated the Immigration and Nationality Act’s bar on discriminating against U.S. workers by preferring temporary visa holders during recruitment and hiring. (justice.gov) ### What is PERM, and why was it central here? The PERM program allows employers to sponsor workers for permanent resident status if they carry out good-faith recruitment and cannot find qualified U.S. workers, the Justice Department said. That process requires employers to test the labor market before moving ahead with a green-card sponsorship case. (justice.gov) The settlement agreement said DOJ’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section opened an independent investigation of OpenAI on August 13, 2025, and separate charge-based investigations the same day. The agreement said DOJ opened a charge-based investigation of Statsig on September 9, 2025. ### What conduct did DOJ say it found? The settlement agreement said investigators found reasonable cause to believe OpenAI engaged in a pattern or practice of citizenship-status discrimination in five PERM-related advertisements beginning no later than June 2023 and continuing until at least April 2025. (justice.gov) The agreement said Statsig committed a similar violation in one PERM-related recruitment in July 2025. (justice.gov) DOJ said fewer than 10 PERM positions were at issue, but said the dollar amount reflected the harm when U.S. workers are shut out of applying for lucrative technology jobs. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said in the release that it is illegal to discriminate against U.S. workers by preferring temporary visa holders for jobs. (justice.gov) ### What did OpenAI agree to pay and change? The Justice Department said the settlement requires $1.2 million in civil penalties and a $2 million back-pay fund for people harmed by the companies’ practices. It also requires OpenAI to post PERM jobs on its public careers website and accept electronic applications from U.S. workers. (justice.gov) The agreement said OpenAI and Statsig deny the allegations and that the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or liability. Business Insider reported that OpenAI said it wanted to move forward while continuing to support employees who require immigration assistance. ### What happens next under the settlement? The settlement agreement says the deal takes effect when the last party signs and remains in force for three years after that date. (justice.gov) During that period, OpenAI must train personnel on the anti-discrimination rules in the Immigration and Nationality Act, revise employment policies, and comply with departmental monitoring and reporting requirements. (justice.gov) The next concrete step is implementation: DOJ said OpenAI must use its public careers site and electronic applications for PERM recruitment, while the department’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section oversees compliance under the three-year agreement. (justice.gov)