When employers branch out to hire foreign workers in their company or business, the United States Department of Labor sets rigorous guidelines for the advertising procedure. This is part of the PERM (Program Electronic Review Management) job advertising process. It is a lengthy and time-consuming process, but one that keeps employment opportunities fair and equal.
To start the process, the employers lodge an application with the State Workforce Agency and send their job description to the Department of Labor. Over the course of 3-5 months, the job ad is reviewed. When publishing the ad, employers must make it accessible to domestic workers first. They also need to advertise internally within the company to make sure no suitable candidates miss out on the chance to apply.
One place that the job must be advertised throughout the process is the local newspaper. It is a requirement that the job ad runs in the Sunday paper for two consecutive Sundays. Why is the newspaper so important throughout this process?
The reasons behind this are somewhat outdated because the PERM process was setup before the digital age took over advertising. However, although websites like LinkedIn and other job boards online now dominate, the newspaper element still makes sense. Part of this process is to give local workers in the community a chance to apply. The newspaper is a good way for locals to find out about the job posting first.
It also comes back to keeping local communities strong. The Department of Labor and this recruitment process wants to keep things fair across the board. If it were too easy to hire a foreign worker, the job market would be harder for locals to compete with. The fact that the ads need to be seen in the local paper mean that the community is getting a fair chance of applying for the work ahead of foreigners.
This is particularly relevant in smaller farming community where many employers on farms seek to hire foreigners. These are towns and communities that are more likely to read the Sunday paper and find out about the job advertisement. It gives these communities a chance to stay locally strong.
If after all the locals have had their fair go at applying for the job and the the employer has interviewed amongst domestic workers, but a foreign worker still seems the most appropriate for the role, then it is fair to progress with sponsoring someone’s employment green card. The good thing about the newspaper ads is that they reach out to locals first to gather interest amongst the community.
