The U.S. Department of Labor permits Georgia College to substitute its own, good faith, competitive recruitment process when hiring foreign nationals. However, there are some specific requirements imposed by the Department of Labor that we must follow should the request for permanent residency arise:
The Labor Certifications must be filed within 18 months of the date on the initial offer letter (not the start date). If the deadline has passed OR if the recruitment process does not meet the requirements listed below the position must be re-advertised. The requirements for the initial recruitment and the re-recruitment are identical.
Recruitment/Re-Advertisement Requirements for Faculty and Staff in Teaching Positions
An ad must be placed either in print OR online with a national professional journal.
Online ads must be posted for at least 30 calendar days. Online ads must include the same information as paper ads (see below)
- pointer ads are generally not acceptable
- online ads must be placed on a national professional website. Ads places on job boards associated with professional associations are generally not acceptable, unless the job board is part of the journal website.
The Department of Labor accepts ads placed in the paper version of The Chronicle of Higher Education for this purpose or you may use a national professional journal specific to your field.
The ad must include:
- job title;
- duties (teaching duties should be mentioned specifically and clearly);
- minimum requirements; and
- all language required by law.
It is best to run the ad by OLA prior to posting to ensure it meets all recruitment requirements.
- all postings of the position must match;
- the hiring unit must make a copy of the ad when it is published or, in the case of electronic ads, print a screen shot on the first and last day the ad is run. You may also submit receipts from the journal listing the posting dates;
- resumes/CV's must be reviewed and evaluated in good faith to determine the qualifications of the applicants;
- if the current employee is once again shown to be the most qualified for the position, document reasons why the other candidates are not as qualified.
Once the recruitment is completed and the hiring committee, in good faith, can say that the candidate is the most qualified for the position, can move forward and issue or re-issue a letter of offer.
Submit all documentation to the Office of Legal Affairs. Documents include:
- ad with proof of posting dates;
- offer letter and acceptance;
- resumes/CV's of applicants;
- document outlining recruitment procedures with reasons why selected applicant was the most qualified and why each of the other applicants was not as qualified.
Recruitment/Re-advertisement Requirements for Non-Teaching Positions
All the following recruitment methods must be documented in a recruitment report. The hiring department is responsible for retaining all CV’s, applications, and responses from potential applicants for no less than 5 years and presented to the United States Department of Labor (USDOL), along with the recruitment report, in the event of an audit.
GA Department of Labor job order – HR will open a work order with the Georgia Department of Labor and notify them that this is a PERM posting and that the job order must be open for no less than 30 days. HR will provide the Office of Legal Affairs with proof that the position was advertised with the GDOL and will include the opening and closing dates of the posting. The hiring department will review all applications received from this source and evaluate each one.
Two Sunday advertisements in a local newspaper –Ads for the position must appear in two Sunday editions of a local newspaper. It is permissible for these ads to be in back to back Sunday editions. Each ad must allow for no less than 30 days for interested individuals to respond. The complete page containing each Sunday’s ad must be forwarded to the Office of Legal Affairs. DO NOT highlight or cut out the ad! The department will review all applications received from this source and evaluate each one. NOTE: Online advertisements cannot be substituted for print ads for this method.
GCSUJobs – The GC HR office will post the position on GCSUJobs. The job must be posted for no less than 30 days for faculty and clearinghouse positions. The department will review all applications received from this source and evaluate each one.
Other local paper advertisement – The ad may run for one day, any day of the week. The ad must allow 30 days for interested applicants to apply. The department must obtain proof of advertisement and can document this with the original complete full page of the paper containing the ad. DO NOT highlight or cut out the ad! The department will review all applications received from this source and evaluate each one. NOTE: Online advertisements cannot be substituted for print ads for this method.
Online advertisement with the Local Newspaper or Journal – This online advertisement can be placed concurrently with the local print ad. This does not need to run online for 30 days, however, it must allow no less than 30 days for interested applicants to apply. The department must provide a printout or screenshot of the online advertisement showing the first and last date it appeared. This will suffice as proof of this type of advertisement. The department will review all applications received from this source and evaluate each one.
One other advertising venue – this can be an online job search site, radio or tv ad, private employment company, job fair, etc. HR and the Office of Legal Affairs, or the consulting attorney will determine the best venue depending on the case.
The Department and/or Human Resources are to provide the following to the Office of Legal Affairs:
- Documents justifying any restrictive or unusual job requirements like foreign language skills;
- Copy of all national/international advertisements of job posting that display the name of publication and dates published, position title, duties and minimum job requirements on each copy;
- Website printouts, including GCSUjobs;
- Journals, including Chronicle of Higher Education or professional journals;
- Print ads in the Union Recorder or Macon Telegraph;
- Recruitment Report; and
- Spreadsheet detailing all applicants and lawful reasons for rejection.
Each step has specific language and timing requirements and restrictions. Therefore, no re-advertisement process should be started without notifying the OLA first.
NOTE: If the foreign national is re-applying for the non-teaching position, the experience they gained while in the position permanent residency is being sought, that experience cannot be counted.
NOTE: Under re-advertisement for a non-teaching position, if a minimally qualified U.S. worker is identified the recruitment process stops immediately.
NOTE: Under re-advertisement for a non-teaching position, if the necessary skills could be obtained through on-the-job training, the Labor Certification will likely be denied by the Department of Labor.