{"slug": "openai-unit-settles-discrimination-allegations-with-us-justice-department-for-3", "title": "OpenAI unit settles discrimination allegations with US Justice Department for $3.2M", "summary": "OpenAI OpCo LLC and its subsidiary Statsig Inc. agreed to pay $3.2 million to settle US Justice Department allegations that they discriminated against American workers in hiring, favoring temporary visa holders in the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) program. The settlement includes $1.2 million in civil penalties and a $2 million back-pay fund for affected US workers, plus mandated changes to recruitment practices. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said the agreement aims to rectify harm and force structural changes.", "body_md": "Via costar.com\n\n# OpenAI unit settles discrimination allegations with US Justice Department for $3.2M\n\nThe AI giant will pay civil penalties and establish a back-pay fund after the DOJ accused it of favoring visa holders over American workers in hiring practices.\n\nOpenAI OpCo LLC and its subsidiary Statsig Inc. have reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice over allegations that the companies discriminated against American workers during hiring. The total financial resolution comes to $3.2 million.\n\nThe DOJ’s Civil Rights Division alleged that OpenAI’s units gave preferential treatment to temporary visa holders in recruitment processes tied to the Permanent Labor Certification program, known as PERM. That program is designed to allow employers to sponsor foreign workers for green cards, but companies are supposed to genuinely test the US labor market first, not just go through the motions.\n\n## What the settlement looks like\n\nThe deal breaks down into two chunks. OpenAI will pay $1.2 million in civil penalties to the government. On top of that, the company will establish a $2 million back-pay fund for US workers who were affected by the alleged discrimination.\n\nThe settlement also mandates changes to OpenAI’s recruitment practices going forward. The company will need to ensure that its hiring processes for PERM-related positions provide fair opportunities to US workers. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon framed the resolution as both corrective and preventive, emphasizing that the agreement aims to rectify harm while forcing structural changes.\n\nThe violations fall under the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which prohibits employers from discriminating based on citizenship status or national origin during hiring.\n\n## A pattern across Big Tech\n\nOpenAI isn’t the first major tech company to find itself on the wrong side of the DOJ’s immigration discrimination enforcement. Apple previously reached a $25 million settlement over similar allegations, making it one of the largest resolutions in this category.\n\nThe pattern is familiar. Tech companies use the PERM process to sponsor foreign workers, but the DOJ has repeatedly found that some firms treat the required domestic recruitment steps as a formality rather than a genuine effort. The DOJ’s position is that OpenAI’s units did exactly that.\n\nThe $3.2 million total is notable as one of the larger recent resolutions from the DOJ in this domain, though it still pales compared to Apple’s $25 million agreement.\n\n**Disclosure:** This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our\n\n[Editorial Policy](https://cryptobriefing.com/editorial-policy/).", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-unit-settles-discrimination-allegations-with-us-justice-department-for-3", "canonical_source": "https://cryptobriefing.com/openai-settles-discrimination-doj/", "published_at": "2026-08-04 20:48:49+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-08-04 21:39:38.410963+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-policy"], "entities": ["OpenAI OpCo LLC", "Statsig Inc.", "US Justice Department", "Harmeet K. Dhillon", "Apple"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-unit-settles-discrimination-allegations-with-us-justice-department-for-3", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-unit-settles-discrimination-allegations-with-us-justice-department-for-3.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-unit-settles-discrimination-allegations-with-us-justice-department-for-3.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/openai-unit-settles-discrimination-allegations-with-us-justice-department-for-3.jsonld"}}