OpenAI and its subsidiary Statsig will pay $3.2 million to settle claims by the US Department of Justice that they discriminated against US workers in recruitment and hiring processes by favoring temporary visa holders [1, 2, 3, 4].
The Justice Department found that OpenAI discouraged US workers from applying by requiring paper applications, advertising job openings late at night on the radio, and not posting some jobs on public websites accessible to all applicants [1, 2, 3, 4]. The DOJ said these practices violated the Immigration and Nationality Act’s ban on citizenship-based discrimination [1, 2, 3, 4].
Fewer than 10 job positions were implicated in the claims, according to the DOJ [1, 2, 3]. The settlement includes $1.2 million in civil penalties payable to the US government and $2 million set aside to compensate alleged victims of discrimination [1, 2, 3, 4].
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said, “It is illegal to discriminate against U.S. workers by preferring temporary visa holders for jobs. 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” [2].
OpenAI denied wrongdoing but agreed to the settlement to move forward with its PERM immigration program that supports employees requiring immigration assistance. An OpenAI spokesperson said, “Fulfilling that mission and maintaining America's leadership in AI requires attracting and retaining the best talent from the United States and around the world. While we disagree with the DOJ's findings, we reached this agreement to resolve the matter and move forward with our PERM program, which is critical for employees and candidates requiring immigration support” [2, 3].
As part of the settlement, OpenAI agreed to revise its employment policies, post all jobs publicly, accept electronic applications, provide training, and submit to ongoing DOJ monitoring [1, 2, 4]. The settlement announced on August 4 marks the 13th reached under the DOJ’s Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative since it relaunched in 2025 to enforce restrictions against citizenship-based hiring discrimination [2].
