U.S. Justice Department and EEOC secure $5 million from Instacart for favoring visa workers and discriminating against American job seekers

WASHINGTON

The U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced on the 20th (local time) that they had reached a $5 million settlement with Maplebear Inc., which operates the online delivery service Instacart. The two agencies said Instacart discriminated against U.S. workers based on citizenship status and national origin by favoring workers holding temporary employment visas in hiring under the permanent labor certification (PERM) process. The settlement is divided into a victim compensation fund of up to $4 million and a $1 million civil penalty paid to the U.S. government. Instacart is an online delivery service company headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Agencies find Instacart accepted PERM applications only by mail and did not consider U.S. applicants in time

According to the Justice Department's press release, Instacart required applications to be sent directly by mail only for jobs advertised as part of its PERM recruitment process. Instacart's normal hiring accepted electronic applications. The Justice Department pointed out that this requirement departed from the company's standard procedures. The department said that as a result, "many of the U.S. workers who applied were not timely considered."

The two agencies said they found evidence that Instacart's hiring and recruitment practices carried out as part of the PERM process "intentionally discriminated against U.S. and American workers by preferring workers with temporary employment visas." The EEOC said its own investigation also turned up similar evidence. The two agencies concluded that Instacart violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Discrimination based on citizenship status is covered by the Immigration and Nationality Act, and discrimination based on national origin by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The press release described the visas at issue as "temporary employment visas" without specifying a type such as H-1B, and did not include the number of PERM jobs involved or Instacart's position.

The Justice Department Civil Rights Division's list of settlements and lawsuits shows the Instacart settlement dated October 19, 2026. The announcement came the following day.

Instacart to pay compensation fund of up to $4 million and $1 million civil penalty

Under the settlement, Instacart will set up a compensation fund of up to $4 million. Those eligible for compensation are people who applied for PERM jobs from December 2023 to February 2026 and people who were deterred from applying by the company's practices. Instacart will appoint a claims administrator. The administrator will contact potentially affected people and determine whether they are eligible for back pay and compensatory damages.

The EEOC said that until the administrator sets up a separate contact email, people claiming harm can contact a dedicated EEOC address (Instacart@eeoc.gov). The Justice Department's Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) also released its worker hotline (1-800-255-7688).

The $1 million civil penalty will be paid to the U.S. government. Conditions beyond money were also attached. Instacart must in the future post PERM jobs on the company's public careers website and accept electronic applications. According to the settlement summary released by the Justice Department, the company must revise its PERM-related policies and provide annual training to human resources staff on the citizenship status and national origin provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act and on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The company must appoint a monitor to oversee its PERM program and report on compliance.

The settlement summary did not state the duration of the monitor's activities, the deadline for fund payments or whether Instacart admitted wrongdoing.

Assistant Attorney General Dhillon and Chair Lucas vow to keep fighting discrimination against U.S. workers

Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, said this meaningful resolution is "the fifteenth settlement agreement the Civil Rights Division has reached under my leadership to protect U.S. workers." Dhillon said the division's record proves that the Justice Department is holding accountable companies that prefer workers with temporary employment visas. Dhillon said, "We will not stop fighting for U.S. workers until there is a fair playing field."

EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said, "Today's settlement makes clear that when employers erect unlawful barriers that harm American workers, the EEOC will act decisively." Lucas said the EEOC is committed to holding companies accountable when they deny American workers equal job opportunities by preferring temporary visa holders for jobs. Lucas stressed, "Discrimination against workers based on their American national origin has no place in our economy."

The EEOC said the settlement is the fourth public settlement the EEOC has reached since 2025 involving "anti-American national origin discrimination." The EEOC said that separately, five related lawsuits are pending in federal courts. The EEOC described itself as the only federal agency with authority to investigate and sue private employers for violations of federal employment discrimination law.

PERM program premised on confirming there are not enough Americans available for the job

PERM is the process by which employers sponsor foreign workers working on temporary visas for permanent residency. The Justice Department explained that employers must first recruit U.S. workers in good faith, and must not discriminate based on citizenship status or national origin in this recruitment process.

Section 656.1(a) of Title 20 of the Code of Federal Regulations requires the secretary of labor to confirm two things before a foreign national is employed on a permanent basis. One is that "There are not sufficient United States workers who are able, willing, qualified and available" for the job. The other is that employment of the foreign national will not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of U.S. workers.

Recruitment procedures are set out in Section 656.17. For professional occupations, the employer must place a job order with the state workforce agency for 30 days between 30 and 180 days before filing. The employer must advertise twice, on two different Sundays, in the newspaper of general circulation most appropriate to the occupation. In rural areas without a Sunday edition, the edition with the widest circulation may be used instead. In addition, the employer must choose three of 10 methods for additional recruitment, and use of the employer's website is one of those options.

Advertisements must name the employer and direct applicants to send résumés to the employer or apply in person. They must describe the job in enough detail for U.S. workers to identify it and state the geographic area of employment. The wage stated in the advertisement must not be lower than the prevailing wage for the occupation and must not be less favorable than the terms offered to the foreign national. In its recruitment report, the employer must state the number of U.S. workers rejected, categorized by the lawful job-related reasons. Under subsection (g)(2) of the same section, a U.S. worker who can acquire the necessary skills through a reasonable period of on-the-job training is considered qualified. Rejecting them for lacking such skills is not a lawful reason.

Immigration and Nationality Act bars discrimination against citizens, with fines per victim

Section 1324b(a)(1) of Title 8 of the U.S. Code prohibits employers from discriminating based on national origin in hiring, recruitment and discharge. For "protected individuals," it also prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status. Subsection (a)(3) includes U.S. citizens and nationals, permanent residents, refugees and asylees as protected individuals. Some permanent residents who do not apply for naturalization within the time limit are excluded.

There are exceptions to this provision. Employers with three or fewer employees are not covered. Where national origin discrimination is covered by Section 703 of the Civil Rights Act, it is handled under the Civil Rights Act rather than the Immigration and Nationality Act. Cases where law or government contracts require citizenship are also excepted. Subsection (a)(4) allows an employer to prefer a U.S. citizen over a foreign national when the two applicants are equally qualified.

Fines are assessed per person discriminated against. The statute sets a fine of not less than $250 and not more than $2,000 for an employer subject to a first order. For an employer previously subject to one order, the range is not less than $2,000 and not more than $5,000, and for an employer previously subject to two or more orders, not less than $3,000 and not more than $10,000.