DOJ's PERM Crackdown Hits Companies of All Sizes

OpenAI agreed to pay $3.2 million to settle a Department of Justice case alleging that the company made it harder for U.S. workers to apply for PERM-sponsored positions than it did for other positions.

The settlement follows a string of recent enforcement efforts by the DOJ, but its impacts will be felt across the broader tech industry. While OpenAI is a household name, many of the companies the DOJ has targeted are not tech giants. Statsig, OpenAI’s co-defendant in this case, was still an independent startup when the alleged violations occurred.

The takeaway for employers is straightforward: if your PERM recruitment process looks materially different from the way you normally recruit and accept applications, you could face scrutiny—whether you have 50,000 employees or 50.

What was OpenAI accused of?

OpenAI settled without admitting wrongdoing, but the DOJ alleged that the company’s recruitment practices favored non-U.S. workers for PERM-sponsored roles.

According to the department:

1. OpenAI didn’t advertise PERM jobs on its public career site, even though it routinely used the site for other openings.
2. U.S.-based applicants for certain PERM positions were required to submit applications by mail, while applicants for other positions could apply electronically.
3. OpenAI advertised some PERM jobs on the radio, late at night—not exactly prime time for job hunters.

The core allegation was not simply that OpenAI failed to follow a particular PERM recruitment rule. It was that the company's PERM hiring process created different—and potentially more burdensome—conditions for U.S. workers seeking PERM-sponsored positions.

The rule to follow: Make your processes match

Your PERM recruitment should not run separately from your normal recruiting practices. It has to match your normal recruiting process.

If your normal hiring process relies on direct outreach, referrals, and informal recruiting rather than a formal applicant tracking system, PERM can create some challenges. Though there is nothing wrong with hiring informally, PERM comes with specific recruitment requirements that an informal hiring process may not naturally satisfy such as:

• Post a job order with your State Workforce Agency for 30 days.
• Run newspaper advertisements on two different Sundays in a newspaper of general circulation.
• Post a Notice of Filing at the worksite for at least 10 consecutive business days.

Those are the Department of Labor’s requirements.

DOJ is looking at a different issue: whether an employer's recruitment practices discriminate against U.S. workers or make it harder for them to apply for PERM positions.

That distinction matters.

If every other candidate can find your openings on your careers page and apply online, but candidates for PERM positions have to locate an advertisement somewhere else and mail in an application, that difference could attract scrutiny.

For smaller employers, there can be another problem. If your normal recruiting consists largely of LinkedIn messages, referrals, recruiters, and informal outreach, you still have to satisfy PERM's formal recruitment requirements. That may mean creating a more structured process rather than trying to fit PERM into an informal one.

Does company size protect you?

Simple answer, No.

It is part of the DOJ's renewed Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, which focuses on employers that unlawfully favor visa holders or other non-U.S. workers over U.S. workers in hiring and recruitment.

Most of the other settlements didn’t come close to $3.2 million. Elegant Enterprise-Wide Solutions, a Virginia IT services company, settled for $9,460. Small and mid-size tech and staffing firms make up most of the initiative’s targets.

Even Statsig, OpenAI’s co-defendant here, was an independent venture-backed startup until OpenAI announced its acquisition in September 2025. The settlement involved conduct that the DOJ alleged occurred before that acquisition.

The lesson: DOJ doesn’t scale its scrutiny to your headcount. OpenAI and Statsig’s combined settlement was over fewer than 10 PERM positions. A handful of filings is enough to draw a multimillion-dollar consequence.

What should employers do?

The Department of Labor plans to overhaul PERM recruitment rules for the first time since 2004. While no final changes have been adopted, employers should be paying attention.

At the same time, DOJ’s enforcement activity under the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative seems to be increasing. That means employers should be looking at their PERM recruitment process now—not after an audit or investigation begins.

This is the moment to look hard at your own PERM process:

1. Map your normal hiring process: Where are jobs posted? How do candidates apply? Who reviews resumes? How are applicants screened and rejected?
2. Compare it against your PERM recruitment steps: The posting channels, application method, and review process should match and be consistent.
3. Fix unnecessary differences: This likely means formalizing the informal aspects of your hiring, since you cannot loosen the PERM requirements. Avoid creating additional barriers for PERM applicants that do not exist for other candidates.
4. Document rejection reasons as you go: If a U.S. applicant does not meet the minimum requirements, document the specific, job-related reason at the time the decision is made. Don't wait until an audit to reconstruct what happened. And vague explanations such as "not a culture fit" are unlikely to help establish that an applicant was rejected for a lawful, job-related reason.

The better protection is a PERM recruitment process that satisfies DOL's requirements without creating unnecessary differences in how U.S. workers find, apply for, and are considered for PERM-sponsored positions.

Check your process now—before someone else does it for you.

Disclaimer. This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it, or contacting Manifest Law through this site, does not create an attorney-client relationship. Immigration law changes frequently, and the information here is current only as of the publication date. For advice on your specific situation, consult a licensed attorney. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This communication is attorney advertising.