WASHINGTON — OpenAI has agreed to a $3.2 million settlement with the Department of Justice to resolve allegations the company illegally favored temporary visa holders over qualified American workers for high-paying technical positions.
The agreement includes $1.2 million in civil penalties and a $2 million fund set aside for U.S. workers who were blocked from applying. The DOJ stated OpenAI failed to advertise positions on its public career site before routing them through the permanent labor certification (PERM) process, a program designed to prove no domestic applicant is available before hiring foreign nationals. The company allegedly required mailed applications and advertised on late-night radio, steps that effectively discouraged American applicants.
"It is illegal to discriminate against U.S. workers by preferring temporary visa holders for jobs," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. "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 settlement forces OpenAI to publicly post all PERM-tracked jobs, accept electronic applications, train hiring staff, and submit to ongoing federal monitoring. This marks the DOJ's 13th enforcement action since the 2025 relaunch of the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, signaling a renewed focus on penalizing corporations that exploit guest-worker programs to depress domestic wages.
An OpenAI spokesperson disputed the findings, stating the company needed to attract global talent to maintain American AI leadership but settled to continue its immigration sponsorship programs. For American tech workers facing stagnant compensation and fierce competition for roles hollowed out by visa pipelines, the fine—though less than 0.1 percent of OpenAI's recent valuation—represents a rare federal acknowledgment that the meritocracy narrative peddled by Silicon Valley is routinely undercut by lobbying for cheap, captive foreign labor.