In a deal with the US Department of Justice, Apple agreed to pay $25 million to resolve charges that the firm violated federal rules by favoring immigrant workers over American citizens and green card holders for specified employment areas. According to the Justice Department's statement last week, Apple failed to actively recruit American citizens or permanent residents for jobs eligible for a federal program that allows employers to sponsor immigrant workers for green cards, thus violating laws prohibiting citizenship discrimination.

US work visas such as the H-1B and L-1 require American corporations to prove that the firm originally tried to fill open employment opportunities by employing from within the country, but failed, necessitating immigrant hiring.

This is the largest settlement ever reached by the Justice Department in claims involving citizenship discrimination. According to the agreements, Apple must pay $6.75 million in civil fines and give $18.25 million to an undefined number of affected employees.

In response to the claims, Apple released a statement admitting that it had "unintentionally not been following the DOJ standard." "We have implemented a robust remediation plan to comply with the requirements of various government agencies as we continue to hire American workers and grow in the United States," the business stated.

The Justice Department stated that Apple strayed from its usual recruitment practices by failing to post job opportunities suitable for the permanent labor certification, or PERM, program on its website, which is standard practice for other positions. Furthermore, contrary to its typical acceptance of electronic submissions, the corporation required applicants for these specific jobs to submit paper applications. According to the government, these less successful recruitment techniques resulted in few or no applications for PERM posts from persons whose work permits did not have an expiration date.

While the Justice Department would not specify which Apple positions were affected or how the business benefited from these recruitment processes, issues emerge since hiring foreign labor is less expensive than hiring U.S. workers. Immigrants who rely on their employers for green card sponsorship are said to be less inclined to switch occupations.

Aside from the monetary settlement, Apple has committed to aligning its PERM recruitment practices with its regular standards. According to the settlement, the corporation will also increase its recruitment efforts and provide anti-discrimination training to its staff.