09 June 2016 Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals concludes employer statement that applicant was not qualified is insufficient The Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) issued a Policy Memorandum on May 12, upholding a denial of an Employer's Application for Permanent Employment Certification (PERM) by the Department of Labor. The reason was that the employer had failed to sufficiently determine whether a US applicant qualified for the job opportunity. The BALCA decision clarifies that, when submitting a PERM application, the employer bears the burden to establish eligibility for the labor certification and the employer's mere statement that the US applicant is not qualified is insufficient to meet the burden. Instead, the employer must clearly certify that the US applicants were rejected for lawful job-related reasons. The employer in this case was found not to have met the burden because it had not confirmed via interview or other means that the US applicant was not qualified for the position. Document ID: 2016-0999 |
