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In Matter of Starry Associates,5

the employer��s advertisement
        a) on a job search website

1) contained an experience requirement
        a) of ��7+ to 10 years,��
        b) significantly exceeding the six-month experience requirement
                i) listed in its ETA 9089.

BALCA concluded that
        a) it was the employer��s responsibility
                i) to note and
                ii) correct errors
                        A) in advertisements, and
        b) that the ad may have discouraged U.S. applicants
                i) from applying
        c) because they thought
                i) they were not qualified.6




2 PERM FAQs are available at www.foreignlaborcert.doleta.gov/faqsanswers.cfm.
3 2011-PER-01856 (July 30, 2014) (en banc), AILA InfoNet Doc. No. 14080102.
4 Per 20 CFR ��656.17(f), advertisements placed in newspapers of general circulation or in professional journals before filing the Application for Permanent Employment Certification must: (1) name the employer; (2) direct applicants to report or send resumes, as appropriate for the occupation, to the employer; (3) provide a description of
the vacancy specific enough to apprise the U.S. workers of the job opportunity for which certification is sought; (4)
indicate the geographic area of employment with enough specificity to apprise applicants of any travel requirements and where applicants will likely have to reside to perform the job opportunity; (5) not contain a wage rate lower than the prevailing wage rate; (6) not contain any job requirements or duties which exceed the job requirements or duties listed on the ETA Form 9089; and (7) not contain wages or terms and conditions of employment that are less favorable than those offered to the alien.
5 2012-PER-00489 (BALCA Nov. 28, 2014).
6 Id.; see also Matter of Decisive Environment, 2012-PER-00506 (BALCA Dec. 2, 2014) (affirming CO��s denial where the employer��s job order mistakenly contained an experience requirement that far exceeded that listed in the
ETA 9089, determining that listing requirements which exceeded the position��s actual requirements may preclude
U.S. workers from applying for the job); Matter of Gelato Cafe, LLC, 2012-PER-00471 (BALCA Nov. 20, 2014) (finding the educational requirement included in the NOF was greater than that listed in the employer��s ETA Form




State Workforce Agency (SWA) Job Order

One of the requirements
        a) of PERM recruitment

1) is
        a) for employers
                i) to list the job opportunity (i.e., job order)
                        A) with the State Workforce Agency (SWA)
                                I) in the state
                                        (a) where the job will be located.

In the past few years,

BALCA decisions have been inconsistent
        a) as to whether the same content requirements
                i) for
                        A) newspaper advertisements,
                        B) professional journals, and
                        C) notices of filing

            apply to
                i) job orders. 7


However,

the most recent BALCA cases suggest that
        a) content requirements
                i) related to ads
                        A) placed in
                                I) newspapers of general circulation and
                                II) professional journals

            do not apply to job orders.8

Per in the matter of A Cut Above Ceramic Tile,9

1) dates
        a) of the SWA job order,
        b) as attested on the ETA 9089,

   serve as sufficient documentation
        a) that the job order ran.






Thus,

an audit response may omit documentation
        a) of the job order, and

1) PERM denials
        a) premised on failure
                i) to provide proof
                        A) of job order

    are improper.

However,

a PERM can be denied
        a) for job order deficiencies.

As DOL can obtain job orders
        a) from SWAs,

1) practitioners should ensure that
        a) they are completely accurate.

If the position includes a travel requirement,

1) this should be listed
        a) in
                i) the job order as well as
                ii) the ETA 9089.

Further,

any terms
        a) of employment
        b) listed in the job order

1) cannot be less favorable
        a) than that
                i) listed in the ETA 9089.10

If a salary is listed,

1) it should
        a) be above the prevailing wage and
        b) match the actual wage range
                i) listed in the ETA 9089.

As a practical matter,

1) it is advisable
        a) to avoid drop-down menus
                i)where possible and
        b) to use free text fields
                i) to list additional information.

Notice of Filing

Though technically not a recruitment step,

1) employers must place a Notice of Filing
        a) at the job location
        b) as part of the PERM process.

Content requirements
        a) for
                i) newspaper advertisements and
                ii) professional journals

1) apply to the NOF.11

Also,

the NOF must contain a statement
        a) that the notice is being provided
                i) as a result
                        A) of the filing
                                I) of a labor certification application
                                II) in connection with the job opportunity.12






9089, and therefore, did not ��provide a description of the vacancy specific enough to apprise the U.S. workers of the job opportunity for which certification is sought�� as required by 20 CFR ��656.10(d)(4)); Matter of Pixar, AILA InfoNet Doc. No 12040345 (finding that incorrect requirements listed in web posting might have discouraged applicants who may not have applied on the assumption that they were overqualified).
7 Compare Matter of Chabad Lubavitch Center, published on AILA InfoNet at Doc. No. 13073040 (posted Jul. 29
2013) (holding that the requirements are different) with Matter of IBM Corp., published on AILA InfoNet at Doc. No. 130829412011 (posted Aug. 27, 2013) (finding the requirements are the same for professional positions).
8 Matter of Special Lotus, Inc., 2011-PER-02312 (BALCA Jan. 13, 2015) (reversing denial where job order did not direct applicants to submit their resumes to the employer); Matter of Cape Advisors, Inc., 2011-PER-02882
(BALCA Dec. 11, 2014) (reversing CO��s denial where job order and advertisement placed by a private employment
firm did not direct applicants to submit resumes to the Employer).
9 2010-PER-00224 (BALCA 2012) (en banc).
10 Matter of Philip Dutton Eventing, LLC, 2012-PER-00497 (BALCA Nov. 24, 2014) (upholding denial where in an audit response, the employer indicated that no-cost, on-site housing was available to employees, but did not note the
availability of housing in the job order, advertisements or notice of filing); see also Matter of Hrok, LLC, 2012-PER-
00294 (BALCA Jan. 23, 2015) (affirming CO��s denial where employer listed a wage range of $50,000 to $60,000 on the ETA Form 9089 but listed a wage of $49,670 on the job order); see also Matter of Windmoeller Hoelscher Corporation, 2012-PER-00273 (BALCA Aug. 26, 2014).
11 Matter of USA Wool, Inc., 2012-PER-00055 (BALCA Aug. 28, 2014) (en banc) and Matter of Tera Technologies, Inc., 2011-PER-02541 (BALCA Aug. 28, 2014) (en banc) (holding that the omission of the employer��s name from a
PERM notice of filing is fatal to the PERM application); Matter of Wilco Enterprises, Inc., 2011-PER-01919



Sunday Newspaper Advertisements

Selecting a newspaper
        a) of general circulation

1) remains an area of uncertainty
        a) for employers and practitioners.

Employers must be able to document that
        a) the newspaper or
        b) journal
                i) chosen


            is the most appropriate
                i) to
                        A) the occupation and
                        B) the workers
                                I) likely to apply for the job opportunity.13

According to DOL FAQs
        a) published in November 2014,

1) there is no published list
        a) of acceptable publications, and
2) DOL expects that
        a) most employers,
                i) based on their normal recruiting efforts,

            will be able
                i) to readily identify those newspapers
                        A) that are most likely to bring responses
                                I) from able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers.14

This guidance,
        a) while recent,

1) is outdated
        a) in light of the fact that
                i) many employers no longer use newspapers
                        A) as part of their normal recruitment.

In listing the name
        a) of the newspaper of general circulation
                i) on the ETA 9089,

1) practitioners should be careful
        a) to list the exact name
                i) of the publication;
                
2) listing the name of
        a) a media group or
        b) company
                i) that owns the publication

    is not sufficient.15

BALCA has recently held that
        a) the regulations do not prohibit an employer
                i) from using one newspaper
                        A) to satisfy multiple recruitment steps,

1) provided that
        a) the newspaper satisfies both categories. 16

Nevertheless,

if an employer seeks
        a) to use one newspaper
                i) to satisfy multiple recruitment steps,

1) practitioners should carefully document that
        a) the newspaper meets both recruitment criteria.

A more conservative practice would be
        a) to publish
                i) the Sunday ads and
                ii) local ads
                        A) in two different newspapers.

DEFECTS IN RECRUITMENT DOCUMENTATION

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