On October 20, 2026, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced a $5 million settlement with Maplebear Inc., doing business as Instacart. The agencies alleged that Instacart’s recruitment for Permanent Labor Certification (PERM) positions discriminated against U.S. workers. The case is a reminder that PERM recruitment is subject to the same anti-discrimination rules as any other hiring.
What the Government Alleged
The Justice Department found that Instacart’s PERM recruitment intentionally favored workers on temporary employment visas over U.S. and American workers. The Justice Department enforced the citizenship status provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The EEOC enforced Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits national origin discrimination against American workers.
The problem was the application process. According to the agencies, Instacart required applicants for PERM-advertised positions to physically mail their applications. For its other openings, the company accepted electronic applications. Because of the mailing requirement, many U.S. workers who applied were not timely considered.
What Instacart Did Wrong
Instacart treated PERM recruitment as a separate, harder track than its regular recruitment process. Asking an applicant to print, sign, and mail an application, when the same employer accepts online applications for every other role, makes it far less likely that the worker will apply. The agencies viewed that friction as a way of steering recruitment toward applicants who already hold visas. Their comparison to Instacart’s standard process was central: a PERM process that visibly differs from the employer’s ordinary hiring is very hard to defend.
What the Settlement Requires
Instacart will establish a settlement fund of up to $4 million to compensate applicants, and deterred applicants, affected between December 2023 and February 2026. It will also pay a $1 million civil penalty. Going forward, Instacart must post PERM positions on its public career website, accept electronic applications, train personnel, revise its policies, and submit to monitoring and reporting.
This is a settlement of allegations, not a court judgment.
Why Employers Should Pay Attention
Instacart is part of a pattern. Apple settled a similar case in 2023 for $25 million, based on the same practices: PERM positions kept off the external job site and paper applications required even though electronic applications were accepted for other roles. The Justice Department says this is its fifteenth settlement under its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative since 2025, and the EEOC has several related lawsuits pending. Both agencies are actively reviewing PERM recruitment.
What We Are Telling Clients
PERM recruitment should look like the company’s regular recruitment.
Never require mailed or paper applications. Electronic submission should be accepted, just as it is for other openings.
Post PERM positions on the same career site used for other openings, with the same visibility, if possible, and after discussing with counsel.
Match the process. Use the same application system, deadlines, review standards, and treatment of current employees.
Audit before an investigation. A review of ad placement, application method, and screening is far less costly than responding to an agency inquiry.
