{
  "id": 183176,
  "title": "OpenAI to pay $3.2 million over allegations it favored visa holders and discouraged US job applicants",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/openai-to-pay-3-2-million-over-allegations-it-favored-visa-holders",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-08-05T16:34:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TechSpot",
    "slug": "techspot",
    "url": "https://www.techspot.com/news/113366-openai-pay-32-million-after-allegedly-favoring-visa.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "OpenAI and its subsidiary Statsig have agreed to pay a combined $3.2 million to settle US Justice Department allegations of discrimination against US applicants in favor of temporary visa holders. The violation occurred during the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) process, where OpenAI allegedly broke the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by not advertising job openings on their external job website, requiring paper applications, and taking other steps to discourage US applicants from applying. The DoJ cited the companies' failure to prove no qualified, willing, or able US workers existed for the positions. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon emphasized that it is illegal to discriminate against U.S. workers by favoring temporary visa holders. OpenAI will allocate $1.2 million as civil penalties and establish a $2 million back-pay fund to compensate victims. The company must also train its workforce on INA's anti-discrimination requirements, revise its employment policies, and face departmental monitoring and reporting to prevent future discrimination. This marks the 13th settlement in similar cases since last year, with TSMC facing allegations of favoring Taiwanese and Chinese workers in hiring and promotions while subjecting American employees to scrutiny and a hostile workplace.",
  "summary": "The settlement addresses allegations that OpenAI and Statsig, which makes product development software, violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by preferring visa holders for jobs during the Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) process. INA bars discrimination based on citizenship. Read Entire Article",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}