PERM – DOL Issues Program Guidance on Role of Lawyers in Labor Certification

Following the recent announcement of the audit of all PERM cases filed by Fragomen, largest immigration law firm in the nation. A new set of rules was issued by DOL on the role of Lawyers following the PERM process.

The Department has long held the view that good faith recruitment requires that an employer’s process for considering U.S. workers who respond to certification-related recruitment closely resembles the employer’s normal consideration process. In most situations, that normal process does not involve a role for an attorney or agent (as defined in 20 C.F.R. 656.3) in assessing the ability of applicants to fill the employer’s needs.

More specifically, the types of actions prohibited by 20 C.F.R. 656.10(b)(2)(i) and (ii) include:
Lawyers may not conduct any preliminary screening of applications before the employer does so, unless the attorney or agent is the representative of the employer who routinely performs this function for positions for which labor certifications are not filed.

Attorneys and agents may not participate in the interviewing of U.S. worker applicants, unless the attorney or agent is the representative of the employer who routinely performs this function.

Under no circumstances, however, should an attorney or agent seek to dissuade an employer from its initial determination that a particular applicant is minimally qualified, able, willing and available for the position in question.

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