PERM Reform: DOL Moves Toward Digital-First Recruitment and Increased Scrutiny

The Department of Labor has started reforming the PERM labor certification process. This is the first major systematic update in more than 20 years.

The current PERM rules are still mostly based on the way hiring worked back in 2004. They focus on traditional recruitment steps, such as newspaper ads and state workforce agency websites. Most employers now recruit through online platforms, company websites, LinkedIn, and other digital channels.

The goal of the reform is to make PERM recruitment look more like a company’s real hiring process, instead of a paper exercise done only for immigration purposes.

Based on the current direction, the new rules may require employers to use more online and digital recruitment channels, give more weight to the actual recruitment process and results, and apply closer scrutiny to PERM cases involving departments that recently had layoffs or restructuring.

More details have not been released yet.

Source: https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eAgendaViewRule?pubId=202510&RIN=1205-AC29