In a settlement with the United States Department of Justice, Apple has agreed to a $25 million payment, resolving accusations of violating federal laws by allegedly prioritizing immigrant workers over American citizens and green card holders for specific job roles.
The Justice Department’s recent statement claims that Apple failed to actively recruit American citizens or permanent residents for positions eligible for a federal program facilitating employers to sponsor immigrant workers for green cards, thus violating laws against discrimination based on citizenship.
The settlement, marking the largest ever by the Justice Department in cases related to citizenship-based discrimination, mandates Apple to pay $6.75 million in civil penalties and allocate $18.25 million to an unspecified number of affected workers.
Acknowledging the allegations, Apple issued a statement admitting to unintentionally not following the DOJ standard and affirmed its commitment to rectify the issue. The company outlined a robust remediation plan to comply with various government agency requirements while continuing to prioritize the hiring of American workers in the U.S.
The Justice Department highlighted Apple’s deviation from standard recruitment practices, citing the failure to advertise eligible job openings on its website and the requirement for paper applications instead of the usual electronic submissions for specific roles. These less effective recruitment procedures, according to the department, often resulted in minimal or zero applications for positions under the permanent labor certification or PERM program. While specific affected jobs were not specified, concerns arise around the cost-effectiveness of foreign labor compared to hiring U.S. workers.
n addition to the financial settlement, Apple has committed to aligning its recruitment practices for PERM jobs with standard procedures, conducting more extensive recruitment efforts, and providing anti-discrimination law training to its employees, as stipulated in the settlement.
Source: Economic Times
