Apple to pay $25 million for favouring immigrants over US citizens

Apple has agreed to pay $25 million to the US Department of Justice in a settlement following charges that it favoured immigrant workers over American citizens and green card holders for certain job roles.

A Justice Department statement said Apple failed to actively recruit American citizens or permanent residents for jobs eligible for a federal programme allowing employers to sponsor immigrant workers for green cards.

In the process, the tech giant violated laws prohibiting discrimination based on citizenship, media reports said.

US work visas like H-1B and L-1 require American companies to undertake that the firm first tried to fill up open job roles by hiring from within the country but failed, making immigrant hiring necessary.

This is the largest settlement in Justice Department cases related to discrimination based on citizenship.

Under the terms, Apple will pay $6.75 million in civil penalties and set aside $18.25 million to an unspecified number of affected workers.

Apple admission

Apple admitted it had "unintentionally not been following the DOJ standard".

The company has expressed its commitment to addressing the issue. "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," it said in a statement.

The Justice Department did not specify the affected Apple jobs or how the company benefited from these recruitment procedures.

But it is known that foreign labour tends to be more cost-effective than hiring US workers. Immigrants relying on their employers for green card sponsorship are perceived as less likely to change jobs.