US Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Thursday (November 9) that Apple has agreed to pay USD 25 million to settle (DOJ) claims which said that the tech giant illegally favoured hiring of immigrant workers over US citizens for certain jobs.
The Justice Department in a statement said Apple did not recruit US citizens or permanent residents for jobs that were eligible for a federal program allowing employers to sponsor immigrant workers for green cards. This violated a law against discrimination based on citizenship.
The settlement amount is the biggest ever for the Department of Justice among cases involving claims of discrimination based on citizenship. The settlement saw Apple pay USD 6.75 million in civil penalties and UD 18.25 million to affected workers, the number of whom was not specified.
In a statement, Apple said 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 US,” the company said.
Watch | What does Apple’s warning of ‘state-sponsored attack’ mean, experts explain
The DOJ has said that Apple did not advertise vacancies that were eligible for the federal program. The program is called permanent labour certification or PERM program. The DOJ has said that the advertisements were not put up by Apple as it does for other positions. Additionally, Apple asked applicants for these jobs to send paper applications although it usually permits electronic applications.
“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.
Professionals from countries with currencies weaker than US dollar often agree to accept job at lower salaries than their US counterparts. Also, as the companies sponsor them for green card, such employees are seen to be less likely to leave job.
In addition to the USD 25 million payout, Apple has agreed to modify recruiting in order to fill positions in accordance with the PERM program. The settlement also requires Apple to conduct more expansive recruitment and train employees on anti-discrimination laws.
(With inputs from agencies)
