US government finds that OpenAI and its subsidiary preferred workers with temporary employment visas
OpenAI has agreed to pay $3.2 million to settle claims from the US government that it allegedly discriminated against US workers and preferred employees with temporary employment visas.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the settlement on Tuesday, which involves OpenAI and its Washington-based software development subsidiary, Statsig Inc.
Under the settlement, OpenAI will pay $1.2 million in civil penalties to the US and establish a back-pay fund of $2 million to compensate victims of the companies' discriminatory practices.
"This substantial settlement ensures that OpenAI redresses harm and changes its recruitment practices so that US workers receive a fair opportunity for highly sought-after technology positions," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division.
OpenAI's discriminatory practices
The settlement comes after an investigation by the DOJ, through its Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER), which found that OpenAI and Statsig violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against US workers during the Permanent Labour Certification (PERM) process.
PERM is a certification issued by the Department of Labour (DOL) that allows employers to hire a foreign employee to work permanently in the US. The DOL must first certify that there are not sufficient US workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available to accept the job opportunity in the area of intended employment.
According to the DOJ's probe, OpenAI did not advertise the positions it sought to fill through the PERM programme on its external job website despite its standard practice to do so.
It also required applicants to mail paper applications for positions advertised as part of PERM recruitment, and even advertised the roles on the radio late at night to discourage US workers from applying.
OpenAI's settlement with DOJ
OpenAI has rejected the DOJ findings, according to the settlement agreement.
"OpenAI denies and continues to deny IER's allegations and the findings of the OpenAI Investigations," it read.
"This Settlement Agreement shall not be deemed, construed, or interpreted by any Party to be an admission of any violation of any statute or law, or of any wrongdoing or liability."
In addition to the civil penalties and back-pay fund, the settlement also mandated OpenAI to start posting positions on its public career website and accept electronic applications.
It also required the ChatGPT developer to train its personnel on INA's anti-discrimination requirements and revise its employment policies.
The company also agreed to be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements to prevent future cases of discrimination.
The DOJ said this is its 13th settlement since beginning its crackdown in 2025 on companies that illegally discriminate against US workers by favouring those with employment visas.
