Spotlight on illegal hiring practices: Apple pays $25M for recruiting, job ad mistakes

Apple Inc. has agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations that it engaged in illegal hiring practices, the DOJ announced in a press release.

At issue here, the company had jobs that were available through the PERM program, a federal program allowing employers to sponsor immigrant workers for green cards.

DOJ: 3 illegal hiring practices didn’t comply

A DOJ investigation determined Apple did not comply with PERM program requirements, as the tech giant allegedly:

• Failed to recruit U.S. citizens or green card holders for the positions it sought to fill through the PERM program
• Failed to advertise the positions it sought to fill through the PERM program on its external job website – even though its standard practice was to post other positions on this website, and
• Required all PERM position applicants to mail paper applications, even though the company allowed electronic applications for other positions.  

In the DOJ’s view, the alleged conduct amounted to violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) – a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of citizenship.

Back pay, civil penalties

In a statement, Apple acknowledged that it “had unintentionally not been following the DOJ standard” and agreed to settle the case.  

Apple agreed to pay $25 million to settle the dispute, the largest award the DOJ has recovered under the anti-discrimination provision of INA. The payout will be distributed as follows:

• $18.25 million must be deposited into a fund, which will be distributed as back pay to eligible discrimination victims, and
• $6.75 million will cover civil penalties for the violations.

  Under the agreement, Apple must also:

• Ensure its recruitment for PERM positions more closely matches its standard recruitment practices
• Provide employee training on the INA’s anti-discrimination requirements, and
• Submit to compliance monitoring for three years.