Apple to Pay $25 Million in DOJ Settlement Over Discriminatory Hiring Practices Favoring Immigrant Workers

Apple's discriminatory hiring practices involved not advertising certain positions and requiring mailed-in applications, favoring temporary visa holders and deterring US applicants. The tech giant, while denying intentional discrimination, has agreed to a remediation plan to align its recruitment practices with government standards.

Apple has agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations of discriminatory hiring practices that favored immigrant workers over US citizens and permanent residents. The settlement includes $6.75 million in civil penalties and an $18.25 million fund for back pay to those affected.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) found that Apple violated the Immigration and Nationality Act's anti-discrimination requirements during its recruitment for positions under the Permanent Labor Certification Program (PERM).
Apple did not advertise PERM positions on its external job website and required mailed-in applications, which the DOJ said deterred US applicants and resulted in few or no applications from candidates whose work permission does not expire.
The tech giant has denied intentional discrimination, attributing any failures to 'inadvertent error'. Apple has implemented a remediation plan to align its recruitment practices with government standards.
As part of the settlement, Apple is required to conduct more expansive recruitment for all PERM positions, including posting these positions on its external job website, accepting electronic applications, and enabling applicants to PERM positions to be searchable in its applicant tracking system.

U.S. Department of Justice