DOJ Decision Allows Job Discrimination Against Americans, Lawyer Claims
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has made a controversial legal ruling, which, according to attorney John Miano, permits employers to discriminate in job advertisements against American workers.
Miano described the ruling as a significant blow to U.S. workers, stating it fails to grasp the realities of the hiring process. He is currently involved in a lawsuit against a Chicago-based group aimed at promoting the hiring of H-1B visa workers over American citizens.
He explained that the decision assumes the hiring process, from job postings to actual hiring, operates uniformly. However, he pointed out that in practice, many job ads are used merely to gather resumes for potential future hiring without posting specific jobs—many of which explicitly seek only H-1B candidates.
According to Miano, under this new ruling, if an employer advertises a position stating “H-1B Workers Only,” they cannot face legal consequences unless a rejected American applicant can demonstrate they were denied the job due to their nationality.
Miano suggested that Attorney General Todd Blanche could review this decision. Yet, he also mentioned that it could be prohibitively expensive for an American worker to challenge such a discriminatory practice, estimating legal fees could reach around $50,000 to explore a case in front of a judge.
The DOJ did not respond to inquiries regarding the matter.
Miano represents US Tech Workers, an organization advocating against the use of foreign visa workers. He has initiated several lawsuits against businesses involved with the Chicago H-1B Connect Coalition, which functioned as a job board aimed at hiring lower-wage, subordinate workers, effectively discouraging American applicants.
Corporate lawyers have since retaliated, influencing the DOJ to allow companies to exclusively advertise for foreign H-1B applicants, thus excluding American workers entirely.
This latest ruling was issued by an administrative judge in the DOJ’s Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO), which assesses claims of national discrimination. The decision states that “discriminatory advertising does not represent a discrete cause of action under the INA,” or Immigration and Nationality Act, and specifies that evidence of advertising discrimination is only part of cases alleging recruitment or termination violations.
It highlighted a distinction made in similar cases concerning job advertisements designed to broaden the applicant pool versus those that are discriminatory and stated that ads broadening the applicant pool are permissible.
This ruling surfaces amid growing instances of discriminatory online job postings where foreign executives and recruiters are filling American jobs with foreign visa workers and undocumented migrants.
Miano mentioned past attempts to clean up job boards that favored H-1B candidates over Americans. He noted that earlier efforts had led to the removal of such ads only for them to resurface again, and this recent ruling complicates efforts to monitor and regulate these advertisements.
This type of foreign hiring practice is seen as stripping opportunities from Americans, particularly in essential entry-level positions that are vital for career advancement.
The economic motivations are apparent since many executives can profit by recruiting foreign workers through H-1B and other visa programs, importing around 500,000 skilled foreign workers yearly.
There have been recent investigations into fraud within the white-collar job market, which may further incite legislative changes.
In a recent case, the DOJ fined OpenAI $3.2 million for failing to properly advertise a job that was tied to a visa worker’s green card application. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon emphasized that discriminating against U.S. workers in favor of temporary visa holders is illegal and a violation that warrants rectification.
Many American tech workers find themselves pushed out of the industry into lower-paying jobs, while subcontractors increasingly replace them with workers sourced from foreign recruitment platforms.
Some American professionals have voiced their frustrations about job rejections despite their qualifications, expressing disappointment over the hiring process, which often overlooks them in favor of visa holders. One individual recounted that despite having numerous published books, they struggled to find opportunities in the tech sector, illustrating a common feeling among those pushed out of their field.
In conclusion, as the landscape of the job market continues to shift, many are left wondering what the future holds for American workers amid these ongoing challenges and decisions that seem to sideline their interests.
