PERM

Does the use of an electronic national professional journal satisfy the advertisement requirement under the college and university teachers' special recruitment and documentation provision?

According to the Labor Department:

No, use of an electronic national professional journal does not satisfy the optional special recruitment provision's advertising requirement. The employer must use a print publication.

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, the 30 day job order timeframe must end at least 30 days prior to filing. While the employer is not limited to the 30 day timeframe and may choose to post the job order for a longer period, 30 days of the posting must take place at least 30 days prior to filing.

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, an employer may specify alternative experience or qualification requirements, provided the alternative requirements and primary requirements are substantially equivalent to each other with respect to whether the applicant can perform the proposed job duties in a reasonable manner. As discussed in the preamble to the final regulation, this is the standard developed by the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals in Matter of Francis Kellogg.

NOTE: Even when the employer's alternative requirements are substantially equivalent, but the alien does not meet the primary job requirements and only potentially qualifies for the job by virtue of the employer's alternative requirements, the alternative requirements will be considered unlawfully tailored to the alien's qualifications unless the employer has indicated on the application that applicants with any suitable combination of education, training or experience are acceptable.

According to the Labor Department:

Applications submitted by mail must contain the original signature of the employer, alien, and preparer, if applicable, when they are received by the processing center. Applications filed electronically must, upon receipt of the labor certification, be signed immediately by the employer, alien, and preparer, if applicable, in order to be valid.

NOTE: Where the employer provides a copy of an application to a Certifying Officer pursuant to an audit or otherwise, the copy must be signed.

Could the publishing of the notice of filing in the employer's in-house media be counted as one of the additional steps required in the recruitment for professional occupations provision?

According to the Labor Department:

No, posting of the notice of filing on in-house media, including an "Intranet," can not be counted as an additional recruitment step, as it is believed that potential job applicants would only view the notice as a legal or information notice, not as an advertisement for a job opportunity, and would not apply.

Must a prevailing wage determination be obtained from the State Workforce Agency (SWA) if the employer is filing an application for a college or university teacher under the optional recruitment and documentation procedures provision?

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, a prevailing wage determination must be obtained from the SWA even if the employer is filing an application for a college or university teacher under the optional recruitment and documentation procedures provision. The attestation provision of the PERM regulation requires the employer certify that the offered wage equals or exceeds the prevailing wage determined pursuant to the prevailing wage provision which, in turn, requires the employer to obtain a prevailing determination from the SWA having jurisdiction over the proposed area of intended employment.

According to the Labor Department:

An application can not be withdrawn once it has been selected for audit. If circumstances have changed such that the application is no longer valid or applicable, the application must be withdrawn. If an application is selected for audit, the employer can not forego the audit by claiming the application is no longer valid or applicable. The employer will be held to the audit provision standards and possible resulting consequences.

According to the Labor Department:

The employer must file, as part of its labor certification application, documentation the alien meets one of three requirements: the alien has a Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) Certificate, the alien has passed the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX—RN) exam, or the alien holds a full and unrestricted (permanent) license to practice nursing in the state of intended employment.

NOTE: Unlike the filing requirements under other PERM provisions, for Schedule A occupations, the employer is required to submit the applicable documentation when the employer files the application with the appropriate Department of Homeland Security office.

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, the system provides the employer with the choice, upon finishing an online session, of either saving an application as a draft or submitting it to a National Processing Center.

According to the Labor Department:

No, only an employee or owner of the employer entity may register to use the Permanent On-line System because employers must make the attestations required for the permanent application process and a PIN will only be assigned to an employer. The registration must be submitted by an individual with actual hiring authority for the employer. The individual listed under the "Employer Contact Information" section of the registration page must be the individual with actual hiring authority for the employer and cannot be the attorney or agent. During the registration process, the employer may create sub-accounts for attorneys or agents. We will cancel or deny registrations submitted by non-employers. Submission of a permanent labor certification application using a PIN assigned to a non-employer will be grounds for denial or revocation of a permanent labor certification.

NOTE: To withdraw or delete a registration account (as in a situation where the original registration was set up showing an attorney or representative as the "user" and/or where the contact person for the employer is not a person with actual hiring authority), please e-mail PLC.HELP@dol.gov, provide the user name and password, and request the account be deleted. At that point, the person with actual hiring authority can re-register with the correct information.

According to the Labor Department:

Schedule A lists those occupations for which a determination by the Department of Labor has been made that there are not sufficient United States workers who are able, willing, qualified, and available and the wages and working conditions of United States workers similarly employed will not be adversely affected by employment of aliens in those occupations. An employer seeking a labor certification for a physical therapist, a professional nurse, or an alien of exceptional ability in the performing arts, sciences or arts, to include college and university teachers, should review § 656.5, Schedule A, to determine whether the alien's qualifications meet the provision's requirements.

According to the Labor Department:

If the granting of a labor certification is found not to be justified, whether based on unintentional or willful conduct of the employer, a previously approved labor certification will be revoked.

According to the Labor Department:

The State Workforce Agency will make a determination on the acceptability of the employer-provided survey based on the provisions in §§ 656.40(g)(2) and (3).

According to the Labor Department:

If the application was filed on-line, the application can be withdrawn by accessing the account wherein the application was filed and simply marking the appropriate box. If the application was filed by mail, a withdrawal request, in writing, must be sent to the National Processing Center to which the application was originally submitted.

According to the Labor Department:

For purposes of the actual minimum requirements provision, the term "contract employee" is intended to include all persons contracted to work for the employer. The broad use of the term under the actual minimum requirements provision is intended to ensure the provision applies to experience gained working for the employer by the alien, whatever the alien's employment status.

Will the wage offer set forth in a labor certification application be considered as meeting the prevailing wage standard if it is within 5 percent of the average rate of wages?

According to the Labor Department:

No, the wage offered must equal or exceed the prevailing wage. The wage must be at least 100% of the prevailing wage. The 5% deviation, permitted under the former regulation, is no longer acceptable.

Should the employer seek the information required regarding the placement of job orders from the State Workforce Agency (SWA) in the area of intended employment?

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, the employer should seek any information required regarding job orders from the SWA. If an employer is not clear on how to place a job order, the employer should check with the SWA responsible for the area of intended employment. Placement of job orders with a SWA must be in accordance with each SWA's rules and regulations. In other words, SWAs place labor certification job orders the same way they place any other job order.

In the event an employer wanted to refile a reduction-in-recruitment (RIR) conversion application, what date would be considered the original filing date (priority date), i.e., is the filing date of the original application the date the traditional recruitment application was filed with the State Workforce Agency (SWA) or the date the application was accepted as a RIR conversion application?

According to the Labor Department:

The original filing date (priority date) is the date the original application was initially accepted for processing by the SWA under the basic labor certification process; it is not the date the application was accepted as a RIR conversion application.

According to the Labor Department:

The employer must provide the address of the appropriate Certifying Officer for the area of intended employment. Addresses for the National Processing Centers and Certifying Officers, including a chart of the states and territories within their jurisdiction, can be found under the section, How to File, above.

If the employer includes job duties and requirements in the advertisement, must they be listed on the Application for Permanent Employment Certification, ETA Form 9089, as well?

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, if an employer wishes to include additional information about the job opportunity, such as the minimum education and experience requirements or specific job duties, the employer may do so, provided these requirements also appear on the ETA Form 9089.