Settlement with OpenAI for Discriminating Against U.S. Workers

The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division secured a $3.2 million settlement with OpenAI OpCo LLC and its subsidiary Statsig Inc. over allegations that the companies discriminated against U.S. workers by preferring temporary visa holders during the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) process. OpenAI will pay $1.2 million in civil penalties and establish a $2 million back-pay fund, and must change its recruitment practices to give U.S. workers fair opportunities.

Press Release Civil Rights Division Secures Settlement with OpenAI for Discriminating Against U.S. Workers For Immediate Release Office of Public Affairs The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today that it has secured a combined $3,200,000 settlement https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1455621/dl with OpenAI OpCo LLC, a San Francisco, California-based artificial intelligence company, and its subsidiary, Statsig Inc., a Bellevue, Washington-based software development company together, OpenAI . The settlement addresses allegations that both companies violated the Immigration and Nationality Act INA by discriminating against U.S. workers and instead preferred workers with temporary employment visas, when the companies hired and recruited during the Permanent Labor Certification PERM process. “It is illegal to discriminate against U.S. workers by preferring temporary visa holders for jobs,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This substantial settlement ensures that OpenAI redresses harm and changes its recruitment practices so that U.S. workers receive a fair opportunity for highly sought-after technology positions.” The Department’s investigation found that OpenAI did not advertise positions it sought to fill through the PERM program on its external job website, even though its standard practice was to do so with other jobs. OpenAI also required applicants to mail paper applications for positions advertised as part of PERM recruitment, even though the company permitted electronic applications for other positions. In addition, OpenAI took other steps to discourage U.S. workers from applying, such as advertising positions on the radio late at night. While there were fewer than ten PERM positions at issue, the resolution amount reflects the harm to U.S. workers when they are shut out of applying for lucrative technology jobs. Under the terms of the settlement, OpenAI will pay $1,200,000 in civil penalties to the United States and establish a back-pay fund of $2,000,000 to compensate victims of the companies’ discriminatory practices. In addition, OpenAI will give U.S. workers fair opportunities to apply for jobs as part of PERM recruitment by posting the positions on its public career website and accepting electronic applications. The agreement also requires OpenAI to train its personnel on the INA’s anti-discrimination requirements, revise its employment policies, and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements, to prevent future discrimination. The PERM program allows employers to sponsor workers for permanent resident status if the companies perform good-faith recruitment, but cannot find qualified U.S. workers. However, during this process, companies cannot illegally discriminate against U.S. workers based on their citizenship status. This settlement is the thirteenth settlement since the Department re-launched its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative in 2025 to enforce the INA’s prohibition on citizenship status discrimination against companies that illegally discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of those with employment visas. Under these settlements, the Department obtains civil penalties for each violation and will continue to seek the maximum penalty permitted by law. The settlements may involve awards of back pay, when warranted. They also require employers to conduct comprehensive training for relevant staff and recruiters and cease restricting consideration for job opportunities based on workers’ citizenship status without a lawful reason. For information about additional settlements under the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, visit IER’s website https://www.justice.gov/crt/settlements-and-lawsuits . For informal assistance, the public can call IER’s free hotline https://www.justice.gov/crt/immigrant-and-employee-rights-section-hotline at 1-800-255-7688 for workers, 1-800-255-8155 for employers, or 1-800-237-2515 TTY for hearing impaired, between 9am and 5pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday; sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation https://www.justice.gov/crt/webinars ; email IER@usdoj.gov mailto:IER@usdoj.gov ; or visit www.justice.gov/ier http://www.justice.gov/ier . Updated August 4, 2026 Topic Civil Rights