OpenAI and its subsidiary Statsig have agreed to pay $3.2m (£2.5m) to settle US justice department claims that they discriminated against American job applicants by favouring foreign workers on temporary employment visas. The department alleged the companies discouraged US citizens from applying by requiring paper applications, advertising roles late at night on the radio, and withholding postings from external job sites, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act's ban on citizenship-based discrimination. The case fits a wider pattern of Trump administration scrutiny of visa practices, including a contested $100,000 fee on new H-1B applications.

The settlement comprises $1.2m in civil penalties and $2m earmarked to compensate affected workers, even though fewer than ten positions were involved, which officials say reflects the seriousness of the alleged harm. OpenAI denied any wrongdoing but has agreed to overhaul its recruitment policies, undergo staff training, and accept ongoing monitoring by the justice department. It is one of more than a dozen similar settlements the department has reached with mostly tech firms since last year, though none as prominent as OpenAI.