There are several noteworthy developments in the PERM labor certification world requiring employers and practitioners to rethink how to time PERM applications and to (once again) adapt their processes front-to-end. The COVID-19 pandemic combined with high unemployment rates, as well as U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) efforts to change the prevailing wage system, and an apparent increase in scrutiny of PERM applications, have all contributed to a change in the PERM landscape. Below are the top 5 developments employers and practitioners have been facing with respect to PERM preparation and filing: Continue reading “2021 PERM Labor Certification Updates: Processing Times Increase, COVID Accommodations Continue & Prevailing Wages are back to Normal”
TOUGH LUCK FOR PERM LABOR CERTIFICATION-BASED GREEN CARD SPONSORS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
On June 4, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rescinded deadline extensions it had instituted on March 20 to help employers meet PERM requirements during the pandemic (https://www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/pdf/OFLC%20COVID-19%20FAQs%20Round%204.pdf). Unfortunately, employers sponsoring foreign national employees for PERM labor certification-based green cards will for now receive no further accommodations from the DOL during the COVID-19 pandemic. The DOL’s responsibility is to ensure the protection of American workers, so taking a hard line on foreign national sponsorship is not unexpected in light of high unemployment numbers.
Despite stakeholder efforts to receive an extension of these accommodations, the DOL is at this time not willing to provide further accommodations. This means employers must now (a) respond to DOL inquiries within the designated deadline, but on a case-by-case basis may request an extension on or before the deadline; and (b) must conduct their PERM recruitment within the normal regulatory 180-day window. Continue reading “TOUGH LUCK FOR PERM LABOR CERTIFICATION-BASED GREEN CARD SPONSORS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC”
Posting a PERM Notice of Filing If Employers Make Remote Work Permanent Even After COVID-19
Rapid changes in remote work requirements and availability are playing havoc with the PERM process for employers (the process under which employers must conduct a test of the U.S. labor market as part of the green card process for their foreign national employees). Due to rising unemployment and availability of U.S. workers, increased audits and scrutiny by the DOL are expected in the short and long term, making it imperative that employers have all of their I’s dotted and T’s crossed when completing the PERM steps.
Nowhere are the details more important than when completing the required PERM “Notice of Filing” step. Unless there is a bargaining representative based on a collective bargaining agreement, an employer must post a notice of the job opening, commonly referred to as a “Notice of Filing,” for the employees at the worksite to see for 10 consecutive business days, commonly called a “wall” Notice of Filing. Employers who also run electronic or print in-house media must also, i.e., not as an alternative to a wall notice, post the notice there in accordance with their normal procedures in place for recruiting for similar positions.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, many employers have shut down corporate office operations and are requiring their employees to work remotely. Some employers have already publicized plans to keep employees working remotely or at least allow them to do so indefinitely, to be able to reduce corporate office space and to turn what is left into mere meeting and conference space, thereby saving overhead cost. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/nyregion/coronavirus-work-from-home.html
PERM Business Necessity – Back with a Splash?
The Department of Labor (DOL) appears to be getting tough on employers who filed PERM applications before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and the nationwide unemployment it has brought. Based on recent reports from employer petitioners for PERM labor certification (the process under which a U.S. employer must first conduct a test of the U.S. labor market as part of the green card process for a foreign national worker), the DOL has started asking for explanations of the business necessity regarding the position’s education, training, experience and skill requirements in its PERM audit letters.
Under longstanding PERM process regulations, an employer may only require education, training, experience, and skills that are “normal” to the job. To make this determination, DOL relies on the OES (Occupational Employment Statistics) (https://www.bls.gov/oes/) and O*NET Online (https://www.onetonline.org/) databases. If the requirements are not “normal,” the employer must be prepared to justify that they are necessary for the position and not easily learned on the job.
Recent DOL PERM audits are now requiring that an employer explain why the employer’s job opportunity requirements differ from the normally acceptable requirements of education, training, experience and skills as listed in the O*NET Job Summary. The employer must submit documentation establishing business necessity (as opposed to mere assertions of facts or preferences), and address how the requirements at issue apply to any U.S. applicants. Continue reading “PERM Business Necessity – Back with a Splash?”