The U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday that Apple Inc. (AAPL.O) has agreed to pay $25 million to resolve allegations that the corporation had improperly given preference to foreign workers for certain occupations over U.S. citizens and holders of green cards.
According to a statement by the Justice Department, Apple violated a federal statute that forbids discrimination based on citizenship by not hiring U.S. citizens or permanent residents for positions that qualified for a government programme that allows firms to sponsor foreign workers for green cards.
The settlement is the largest ever for the Justice Department involving claims of discrimination based on citizenship, the agency said. It requires Apple to pay $6.75 million in civil penalties and $18.25 million to an unspecified number of affected workers.
Apple in a statement said 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 U.S.,” the company said.
According to the Justice Department, Apple did not advertise job openings that were eligible for the program, known as the permanent labor certification or PERM program, on its website as it routinely does for other positions. And the company required applicants for those jobs to mail paper applications even though it usually permits electronic applications, the department said.
“These less effective recruitment procedures nearly always resulted in few or no applications to PERM positions from applicants whose permission to work does not expire,” the department said.
The Justice Department did not specify which Apple jobs were affected by the recruitment procedures or how Apple may have benefited from them.
Foreign labor can often be cheaper than hiring U.S. workers, and immigrants who rely on their employers for green card sponsorship are seen as less likely to leave for a different job.
Along with the payout, Apple agreed to align its recruiting for PERM jobs with its normal practices. The company will be required to conduct more expansive recruitment and train employees on anti-discrimination laws, according to the settlement.
