Anyone who has ever gone through the process of attempting to recruit overseas, knows full well the amount of red tape that needs to be waded through in order to make sure the process goes smoothly and legally. Even one misstep along the way can either bog down the hiring process or grind it to a halt completely. Immigration advertising for PERM certification is tricky business and there are a number pitfalls to a process that is thoroughly over-legislated by the DOL. While the regulations are there to protect both American workers and foreign workers, it creates quite a headache for employers who are looking to find a qualified worker that they’re struggling to find here in the US. Just how difficult is it?
Basically, the first step in the process for an employer looking overseas to recruit employees is to obtain PERM labor certification from the Department of Labor. The main objective behind this process is to protect the American job market and American workers. It basically stipulates that if a job can be filled domestically, it should be, and it forces domestic employers into proving that they couldn’t fill the job domestically before broadening their search.
One of the most difficult and convoluted steps in the process is the manner in which the job is advertised. For instance, a job title and duties should not include requirements that are outside the scope of the typical duties of that position. The fear here is that employers will attempt to run off American workers by overburdening the job title or otherwise make it undesirable to a domestic worker. Another key stricture is that the job offer must be made at the prevailing wage. This is for the same reason job descriptions can’t include duties not typical to the position. The DOL is afraid that by under-compensating the position a company is trying to run off qualified American job seekers in order to expedite the process of finding labor abroad.
If the Department of Labor suspects that you’ve circumvented the advertising process in any way in order to dissuade qualified American workers from accepting the position, then an employer can subject to a targeted audit. This will seriously delay the timetable of getting your desired employee into a key position at your company.
Marketing firms that do immigration advertising have to be part lawyer, part marketer. They have relationships with certified professional journals, newspapers, and other avenues through which ads can be placed, and can streamline the process in order to ensure that your advertisements are not targeted by the DOL. In so doing they can also save valuable time and money and expedite the process to a considerable degree. It’s important to get this process right, as even the slightest mistake can result in major delays, or worse.
