Under PERM, employers may sponsor foreign workers for permanent resident status if they recruit in good faith and can’t find qualified U.S. workers, DOJ explained in the announcement. OpenAI took other steps to discourage U.S. workers from applying, such as advertising positions on the radio late at night, DOJ added. “While there were fewer than ten PERM positions at issue, the resolution amount reflects the harm to U.S. workers when they are shut out of applying for lucrative jobs,” DOJ said. The system is designed in large part to ensure U.S. workers are not adversely affected by the hiring of foreign workers, the guidance says. Federal regulators have long sought ways to curb abuses attributed to hiring foreign workers.