POV, you just proved that you’re quite possibly the least trustworthy person on earth.
“I don’t trust OpenAI. I don’t trust Sam Altman and I don’t think we want to have the most powerful AI in the world controlled by someone who is not trustworthy.”
— Elon Musk
Since the beginning of the second Trump administration, Sam Altman has promised that OpenAI was going to create jobs, train workers, and help keep AI leadership here in the United States.
He even waltzed into the White House to pitch rebuilding American manufacturing and promised to certify 10 million Americans in AI skills by 2030.
Well, it turns out hypocrisy is alive and well still because the DOJ just announced a $3.2 million settlement with OpenAI over allegations that the company discriminated against US workers during the federal PERM hiring process.
So much for telling Americans that their skepticism towards AI is overblown. Just accept it.
“You have to convince your community how great these things are. You can’t fight it. You have to go with it. And you’re going to have all that protection. And we’re giving you automatic protection. But you’re going to make a tremendous amount of money. You’re going to reduce taxes. And you’re going to have something that if you don’t have it, everybody else wants it.”
— President Donald Trump
Now what is the PERM program?
It allows employers to sponsor foreign workers for a permanent residency if they first make the good faith effort to recruit qualified US workers. And federal law prohibits employers from discriminating against US workers during that process.
According to the DOJ, OpenAI discouraged qualified Americans from applying for certain jobs while giving preference to temporary visa holders during the PERM hiring process.
Assistant Attorney General Harmi Dillon put it bluntly. It is illegal to discriminate against U.S. workers by preferring temporary visa holders for jobs.
To no surprise, OpenAI disagreed with the DOJ’s findings, but still agreed to pay the $3.2 million settlement, including $1.2 million in civil penalties and a $2 million back pay fund, along with sweeping changes to its hiring practices under the DOJ’s oversight.
And there’s the irony. The same company promising an American AI jobs boom is settling allegations that it didn’t give American workers a fair shot at its own jobs.
I mean, should we be shocked? This is what the CEO’s perspective on the future of AI is:
“I think AI will probably like most likely sort of lead to the end of the world, but in the meantime, there will be great companies created with serious machine learning.”
— Sam Altman
And while OpenAI is still pushing projects like Stargate and building a new data center in Georgia to sell itself as a champion of American AI, this settlement poses an obvious question.
If you were asking Washington to trust you with the future of America’s workforce, shouldn’t you have started following the rules designed to protect American workers?
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