The Justice Department Civil Rights Division announced on Wednesday that OpenAI and its former subsidiary Statsig signed a settlement. The agreement includes three years of oversight covering the hiring practices of the artificial intelligence lab. OpenAI acquired the artificial intelligence testing company Statsig in September 2025. OpenAI later divested at least part of the business in May 2026. The Justice Department stated that it began investigating both companies separately before the acquisition took place in August 2025. This investigation included five cases at OpenAI between 2023 and 2025 and one case at Statsig.
Federal authorities alleged that these companies used various tactics to prevent United States citizens from applying for jobs held by immigrant employees. This occurred when the businesses sponsored those workers for permanent United States residence. The companies did not admit to any wrongdoing. However, they agreed to pay a total of $3.2 million to resolve the matter. Out of that total amount, $1.2 million constitutes a civil penalty fine. The remaining $2 million is being set aside to pay restitution to United States citizens who applied to those jobs if the Justice Department finds any individuals who were harmed.
The Justice Department alleged that OpenAI and Statsig broke provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. The statute requires companies to genuinely search for qualified United States citizens before pursuing permanent residence applications known as PERM. According to the government, the firms failed to list roles on public job boards. They advertised positions on the radio late at night. They also required paper applications instead of utilizing electronic ones. Fewer than 10 roles were at issue across the investigated cases.
Under the terms of the settlement, the companies must pay the financial penalty and submit to federal oversight regarding their permanent residence roles. Oversight requirements include drafting and obtaining approval for their hiring policies related to these positions. The companies must also submit semiannual reports to the department. These reports must detail how many applications for foreign employees the companies pursued. They must also disclose how many United States citizens the firms interviewed along with other relevant statistics.
This enforcement action forms part of an increased crackdown by the Justice Department on companies regarding permanent residence labor certification practices. The Immigration and Nationality Act is a federal law passed in 1952. Other presidential administrations have enforced this statute against other major technology companies in the past. During the administration of President Joe Biden, both Meta platform Facebook and Apple signed similar settlement agreements. In those prior technology sector cases, the Justice Department alleged that the violations were widespread and systematic.
The Justice Department will monitor compliance through the mandated semiannual reports and newly approved hiring policies over the next three years.
