Apple agrees to $25 million settlement with US over hiring of immigrants

livemint.com:

Apple did not recruit U.S. citizens or permanent residents for jobs that were eligible for a federal program allowing employers to sponsor immigrant workers for green cards, in violation of a federal law that bars discrimination based on citizenship.

Also Read: Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak suffers possible stroke, hospitalised in Mexico City 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." Also Read: Apple Festive Season offers: Get 50% discount on Airpods 3rd gen with iPhone 14 and more “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. Also Read: Apple releases iOS 17.1.1 and watchOS 10.1.1: Fixes bugs and resolves battery drainage issue "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.