{"id":6346,"date":"2026-08-04T21:09:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T21:09:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346"},"modified":"2026-08-04T21:09:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T21:09:36","slug":"openai-agrees-to-3-2-million-settlement-after-feds-accuse-it-of-discriminating-against-u-s-workers-in-favor-of-green-card-seekers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346","title":{"rendered":"OpenAI agrees to $3.2 million settlement after feds accuse it of discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of green card seekers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

Bay Area artificial intelligence giant OpenAI agreed to pay $3.2 million to resolve federal authorities\u2019 claims that it discriminated against U.S. workers in hiring for software engineering jobs and other positions, while favoring foreign visa holders.<\/p>\n

Read more Ex-Trump aide Stephanie Grisham files restraining order against GOP Rep. Max Miller<\/a><\/p>\n

The pioneering San Francisco company, whose ChatGPT chatbot has taken the world by storm since its 2022 launch, denied the government\u2019s allegations, according to the settlement agreement signed Monday and released Tuesday.<\/p>\n

RELATED: OpenAI models break out of test environment, hack company to steal answers<\/strong><\/p>\n

But OpenAI agreed to pay a $1.2 million fine and set aside $2 million to provide \u201cback pay\u201d to any U.S. workers found to have missed out on employment, the agreement said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is illegal to discriminate against U.S. workers by preferring temporary visa holders for jobs,\u201d said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, a former San Francisco lawyer heading the U.S. Justice Department\u2019s civil rights division.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis substantial settlement ensures that OpenAI redresses harm and changes its recruitment practices so that U.S. workers receive a fair opportunity for highly sought-after technology positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

OpenAI did not immediately respond to questions Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Six positions in areas including software engineering and business operations were at issue in the Justice Department\u2019s investigation, the department said. Each job was already held by a visa holder, but because OpenAI was sponsoring them for permanent residence, known as a green card, the company was required to \u201cengage in good faith recruitment of U.S. workers and attest there are no qualified and available U.S. workers for the position,\u201d an unnamed department official said via email Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The department alleged that between June 2023 and at least April 2025, OpenAI made U.S. workers apply for the positions by mail, and did not allow them to submit applications via the company\u2019s typical process where people apply online for jobs posted on OpenAI\u2019s employment website.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition, OpenAI took other steps to discourage U.S. workers from applying, such as advertising positions on the radio late at night,\u201d the department claimed in a press release.<\/p>\n

Read more Hollywood star\u2019s death reignites search for suspect in \u201980s murder<\/a><\/p>\n

The department declined to specify which visas were held by the foreign workers.<\/p>\n

The agreement came amid an immigration crackdown by the administration of President Donald Trump, but also as Bay Area tech companies have gained unprecedented access to the White House. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has publicly lauded Trump, and personally donated $1 million to the President\u2019s second-term inauguration committee. OpenAI earlier this year signed a deal with the U.S. Department of Defense to provide AI systems to the Pentagon.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The department said in a press release that the settlement amount \u201creflects the harm to U.S. workers when they are shut out of applying for lucrative technology jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

RELATED: Mercury News, other outlets seek \u2018serious sanctions\u2019 against OpenAI as deception alleged in copyright lawsuit<\/strong><\/p>\n

The agreement said OpenAI would \u201conly reject U.S. workers for lawful job-related reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howard University political science professor Ron Hira, who studies employment visas, said the alleged discrimination has been \u201ccommon industry practice\u201d for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne-off settlements such as with OpenAI do nothing to fix the root of the problem,\u201d Hira said. He noted that Menlo Park\u2019s Meta in 2021 signed a $14.25 million settlement with the Justice Department to resolve similar claims, and Cupertino\u2019s Apple in 2023 settled with the department for $25 million over similar allegations.<\/p>\n

\u201cEmployers collude with their immigration attorneys to hide these jobs,\u201d Hira said.<\/p>\n

Read more Golden State Cider opens new taproom in San Francisco\u2019s Chase Center<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The agreement came amid an immigration crackdown by the administration of President Donald Trump, but also as Bay Area tech companies have gained unprecedented access to the White House.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"yoast_head":"\nOpenAI agrees to $3.2 million settlement after feds accuse it of discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of green card seekers - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"OpenAI agrees to $3.2 million settlement after feds accuse it of discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of green card seekers - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The agreement came amid an immigration crackdown by the administration of President Donald Trump, but also as Bay Area tech companies have gained unprecedented access to the White House.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-04T21:09:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6346#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6346\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"OpenAI agrees to $3.2 million settlement after feds accuse it of discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of green card seekers\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-04T21:09:36+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6346\"},\"wordCount\":630,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6346#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/934510a38aa7f49bfd0a6a4b6387e356.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Business\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6346#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6346\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6346\",\"name\":\"OpenAI agrees to $3.2 million settlement after feds accuse it of discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of green card seekers - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6346#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6346#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/934510a38aa7f49bfd0a6a4b6387e356.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-04T21:09:36+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6346#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6346\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6346#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/934510a38aa7f49bfd0a6a4b6387e356.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/934510a38aa7f49bfd0a6a4b6387e356.webp\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1333},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6346#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"OpenAI agrees to $3.2 million settlement after feds accuse it of discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of green card seekers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"OpenAI agrees to $3.2 million settlement after feds accuse it of discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of green card seekers - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"OpenAI agrees to $3.2 million settlement after feds accuse it of discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of green card seekers - Next City Digest","og_description":"The agreement came amid an immigration crackdown by the administration of President Donald Trump, but also as Bay Area tech companies have gained unprecedented access to the White House.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-08-04T21:09:36+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"OpenAI agrees to $3.2 million settlement after feds accuse it of discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of green card seekers","datePublished":"2026-08-04T21:09:36+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346"},"wordCount":630,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/934510a38aa7f49bfd0a6a4b6387e356.webp","articleSection":["Business"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346","name":"OpenAI agrees to $3.2 million settlement after feds accuse it of discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of green card seekers - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/934510a38aa7f49bfd0a6a4b6387e356.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-04T21:09:36+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/934510a38aa7f49bfd0a6a4b6387e356.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/934510a38aa7f49bfd0a6a4b6387e356.webp","width":2000,"height":1333},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6346#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"OpenAI agrees to $3.2 million settlement after feds accuse it of discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of green card seekers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6346\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}