If you look at Facebook’s Green Cards Data, you notice something strange for FY 2021. They did not even get one PERM certified by the US Dept of Labor. If you look at the table below of their PERM Data since 2013, it is shocking to see a company that had 1000 PERM Labor Certifications approved in FY 2020 did not even get one certified this year. It is crazy to see the discussion on the Blind on Facebook Issue with PERM. In this article, we will review the reason for the same with some background and the whole issue of Facebook with sponsoring Green Cards.
| Fiscal Year | Certified | Certified Exp. | Withdrawn | Denied |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021(until Q3) | 0 | 214 | 53 | 3 |
| 2020 | 1,009 | 527 | 11 | 0 |
| 2019 | 892 | 560 | 15 | 0 |
| 2018 | 1,097 | 333 | 12 | 1 |
| 2017 | 375 | 302 | 13 | 2 |
| 2016 | 397 | 318 | 9 | 8 |
| 2015 | 218 | 171 | 26 | 4 |
| 2014 | 150 | 99 | 7 | 0 |
| 2013 | 46 | 35 | 4 | 10 |
Before we get into Facebook’s issue with Green Cards or PERM, let’s briefly look at PERM program by the US Dept of Labor so that you all have some context.
Article Contents
What is PERM Process for Green Card
If a company needs to sponsor Green Card for a foreign worker, they need to go through certain steps. The first step towards sponsoring Green Card is PERM Labor Certification. PERM stands for Permanent Labor Certification(PERM). Having an approved PERM from the US Dept of Labor (DOL)is a prerequisite for filing the Immigrant Petition(Form I-140, Immigrant Petition for Alien Worker) for foreign workers with USCIS.
PERM process for Green Card is similar to H1B LCA to file H1B petition with USCIS. However, PERM Labor Certification(LC) process has additional steps and involves additional scrutiny from the Department of Labor (DOL). It includes steps like getting Prevailing Wage Determination (PWD), recruiting applicants for the role by advertising, and having unbiased recruitment to hire US workers before hiring foreign workers. If a PERM Labor Certification is approved or Certified, it states that the US employer could not find a suitable US worker for the position and hence providing a permanent position to a foreign worker.
This recruiting process of PERM is the key issue behind the Lawsuit on Facebook. Let’s look at the details now.
What is Facebook PERM Lawsuit ? Green Card Issue ?
US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against Facebook Inc under section 8 U.S.C. 1324b for discriminating against US workers in the process of filing permanent labor certification (PERM) between January 1, 2018, and September 18, 2019. Below is the summary of the Official Lawsuit Complaint.
Summary of the Facebook PERM Lawsuit
- Facebook has set aside the permanent position to only temporary visa holders and did not consider the qualified U.S workers
- Facebook employed practices that discriminated the qualifying U.S workers when applied for PERM positions through different hiring practices and methods
- The hiring managers at Facebook did not hire anyone for the 2,606 PERM-related vacancies except for the PERM beneficiaries
- During good-faith recruitment phase for PERM related positions, Facebook reported that there were zero U.S worker applicants for 991 (81.5%) positions, one U.S worker applicant for 206 (18.3%) positions, and 2-4 U.S worker applicants for 3 (0.3%) positions. Where as in non-PERM related positions, Facebook received 104 (average) applicants for each position
- Department of Labor mentioned that these PERM practices have continued from at least January 1, 2018 to at least September 18, 2019
- Facebook’s request to dimiss the case was denied, check : United States v. Facebook, Inc. – Department of Justice
Facebook Settles PERM Lawsuit for $14 Million
- Facebook reached an agreement with the Department of Labor and the Department of Justice to settle this lawsuit with hefty fines on October 19th, 2021
- Facebook settled this lawsuit with a $14M fine. Out of this, $9.5 million goes to the eligible victims of Facebook’s discriminated PERM process and $4.75 million to United States
- Facebook has to take stricter measures by having to train its employees with anti-discrimination requirements of INA
- Facebook also has to follow expansive job advertisement recruitment process and match the PERM recruitment process to be as close to it’s regular recruitment process
- Facebook is also subjected additional scrutinity and ongoing audits to make sure it is complying with all the regulations
- Applicants or any employees who believe are part of this discrimination process can file a charge at justice.gov website or by following this link
- Official Judgment News and other details can be found at :
- Official Press Relase : Facebook Settlement PERM – DoJ.
- Actual Final Settlement Document : DOJ – Facebook PERM Settlement
Facebook PERM Lawsuit Current Status Update
- October 19th, 2021 : Facebook settled this lawsuit with $14M fine for PERM related violations. Facebook reached an agreement with Department of Labor and Department of Justice with fine as well as taking stricter measures by having to train it’s employees with anti-descrimination requirements of INA. More about the judgement can be found here at DoJ. Detailed settlement agreement can be found here.
- Until September 2021 : The case is still in trial and does not have judgement yet
- While this litigation is undergoing, it looks like Department of Labor is not approving any of the new PERM applications filed by Facebook.
- If you can check our PERM Profile of Facebook for fiscal year 2021, it shows ZERO approvals for Facebook.
- Below are the full list of all the hearings and orders documents available at justice.gov related to this lawsuit case number 2021B00007
| Date | Lawsuit Official Update |
| 2/18/2021 | 1386 (PDF) |
| 3/12/2021 | 1386a (PDF) |
| 6/2/2021 | 1386b (PDF) |
| 7/19/2021 | 1386c (PDF) |
| 8/9/2021 | 1386d (PDF) |
| 8/30/2021 | 1386e (PDF) |
You can also check Facebook H1B LCA Approvals Data.
Common FAQs
No. We believe that the settlement should only improve the overall process that Facebook follows w.r.t the PERM process. However, there may be additional scrutiny by DoL while reviewing PERM applications filed by Facebook. Audit on a PERM application will definitely add additional delays to the overall process.
Facebook has not been able to get even one PERM approved in FY 2021 due to the ongoing lawsuit as of October 2021. We need to look at data in the next quarters to see Facebook’s stance. Up until the previous fiscal year 2020, they were sponsoring Green Cards
The main reason for the Facebook PERM Freeze is that they did not follow the proper recruiting process as per the PERM Labor Certification. They did not conduct good faith recruitment in the past for a certain period. Due to that, there is a lawsuit that was filed against Facebook, hence the Facebook PERM process is kind of in a Freeze state or Delayed.
As of October 2021, the lawsuit is settled. So, it is probably fine to join Facebook. But, you need to check with the company on their policy and how soon they can sponsor, and other details to be safe.
What are your thoughts on this article? Would you join Facebook when DOL halted PERM applications? Leave your comments/thoughts in the below comments section.