Permanent Residency

Will there be certain responses to questions on the Application for Permanent Employment Certification, ETA Form 9089, that will automatically trigger an audit?

According to the Labor Department:

Questions regarding audit criteria will not be addressed. The criteria was purposely not included in the regulation in order to retain the flexibility to change audit criteria, as needed, for example, to focus on certain occupations or industries when information indicates program abuse may be occurring. The regulation grants authority to increase the number of random audits or change the criteria for targeted audits. Making the audit process predictable would defeat the purpose of the audits and undermine the program's integrity.

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, the employer is permitted to request a review by the Board of Alien Labor Certification of the Certifying Officer's prevailing wage determination by submitting, in writing and within 30 days of the date of the decision of the Certifying Officer, a request to the Certifying Officer who made the determination.

For prevailing wage appeals, when does the 30 day clock start running to file an appeal of the State Workforce Agency (SWA) determination?

According to the Labor Department:

The 30 days to file an appeal to the Certifying Officer begins on the date that the SWA makes a final decision on the case. If the employer submits supplemental information (as permitted one time), the 30 days begins after the SWA considers and makes a decision on the supplemental information.

Must the employer contact all individuals identified as a "match" by a computerized state employment system or must the employer only contact those applicants who have submitted a resume and/or response as specified by the employer in the job order?

According to the Labor Department:

The employer is responsible for considering/contacting those applicants who have affirmatively provided a response as specified by the employer in the job order.

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, but only if the wage source used to make the determination was one other than the wage component of the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), i.e., an employer-provided survey, a McNamara-O'Hara Service Contract Act or Davis-Bacon Act wage, or a Collective Bargaining Agreement wage. To apply under PERM, those employers using the OES must obtain a prevailing wage determination after March 8, 2005.

NOTE: In all labor certification applications filed (postmarked or electronically dated) on or after March 8, 2005, the wage offer must be 100% of the prevailing wage determination and, if the OES is used to make the prevailing wage determination, the determination must be based on the four wage level provision.

If an application for a Schedule A college or university teacher is denied, is the employer permitted to file for a labor certification under § 656.17?

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, the employer may file an application previously denied under Schedule A for a college or university teacher either under the provision for optional special recruitment and documentation procedures for college and university teachers, § 656.18, or under the provision for the basic process, § 656.17.

If Schedule B under the regulation in effect prior to March 28, 2005, has been eliminated and there is no longer a waiver provision for those occupations listed in Schedule B such as household domestic service workers, bookkeepers, laborers, etc., does that mean employers are not permitted to obtain a labor certification for those occupations?

According to the Labor Department:

No, the elimination of the former regulation's Schedule B and its waiver provision does not prevent employers from seeking labor certifications for the occupations listed in Schedule B. To the contrary, employers are free to file applications under the provisions of PERM, as appropriate, for occupations found in the former regulation's Schedule B and are not required to obtain a waiver in order to do so.

When does the Department of Labor consider a request for review to be pending with the Board of Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) and how will the Department process such appeals?

According to the Labor Department:

The Department of Labor considers a request for review to be pending with BALCA under 20 CFR 656.24(e)(6) at the time either a request for BALCA review or a request for reconsideration is submitted to the Certifying Officer.

According to the Labor Department:

No, a time limit has not been imposed on the authority of Certifying Officers to revoke labor certifications.

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, a prevailing wage determination has a limited validity period as specified by the State Workforce Agency (SWA), which may range from no less than 90 days to no more than one year from the determination date.

NOTE: To use a SWA prevailing wage determination, the employer must file its application or begin the recruitment required within the validity period specified by the SWA.

Must a prevailing wage determination be obtained from the State Workforce Agency (SWA) even if the employer is filing an application under the optional recruitment for college and university teachers and/or Schedule A provisions?

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, a prevailing wage determination must be obtained from the SWA even if the employer is filing an application under the optional recruitment for college and university teachers and/or the Schedule A provisions.

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, the employer may accept an equivalent foreign degree. However, the employer's willingness to do so must be clearly stated on the Application for Permanent Employment Certification, ETA Form 9089.

Is the employer permitted to request a review by the Certifying Officer of a State Workforce Agency (SWA) prevailing wage determination?

According to the Labor Department:

Yes, the employer may request a review by the Certifying Officer of a SWA prevailing wage determination by sending a request for review to the SWA that issued the prevailing wage determination within 30 days of the date of the determination

Questions regarding the effective date of the new PERM regulation:

Professional/ Non Professional

Revocation

Under PERM, is it permissible for an employer to have more than one labor certification application actively in process for the same alien for the same job opportunity at any given time? What should an employer do if it has already filed multiple applications for the same alien for the same job opportunity?

According to the Labor Department:

Under the old and new permanent labor certification regulations, DOL certifies that there are not available U.S. workers for a particular "job opportunity." See, e.g., 20 CFR 656.10(c) (new PERM regulation) and 656.20(c) (prior regulation). DOL's longstanding policy has been that an employer is not prohibited from filing applications for the same alien involving different, legitimate job openings to which U.S. workers may be referred. See, e.g., Field Memorandum 48-94 (May 16, 1994) (Policy Guidance on Alien Labor Certification Issues at § 6). However, DOL has not processed or certified multiple labor certifications for the same alien and same job opportunity on grounds that the additional applications cannot represent a bona fide different job opportunity available to U.S. workers.

What To File/Documentation

Job Requirements/ Duties

According to the Labor Department:

No, labor certification applications filed prior to March 28, 2005, will not be automatically converted and/or processed under PERM. Applications filed under the regulation in effect prior to March 28, 2005, will continue to be processed at the appropriate Backlog Processing Center under the rule in effect at the time of filing. As of March 28, 2005, applications (Form 750) will no longer be accepted under the regulation in effect prior to March 28, 2005, and instead new applications (Form 9089) will need to be filed under PERM at the appropriate National Processing Center. Only if an employer chooses to withdraw an earlier application and refile the application for the identical job opportunity under the refile provisions of PERM will a previously filed application be processed under the PERM regulation.