DISCUSSION:
On October 6, 2006 the
Department of Labor (DOL)
announced it will allow the conversion
of supervised/standard Labor Certifications at
the Backlog Elimination Centers (BEC) to be converted to Reduction
in Recruitment (RiR) cases.
This is a significant development since, to date, the only approvals
of Labor Certification cases at the BEC I have seen have been on RiR
Labor Certification cases. The DOL/BEC reports that supervised recruitment
is going on with cases at the BECs, and, I know attorneys who have begun
recruitment in such cases.
The DOL memorandum states that cases in which recruitment has begun
will not be able to be converted to RiR. Therefore, it is recommended
to begin the conversion process soon. DOL will not delay recruitment
of cases to allow conversion to RiR. Thus, there is a risk that, while
recruitment to establish RiR eligibility is happening, the notice of
supervised recruitment will issue from the BEC thereby making conversion
attempts futile.
I recommend converting to RiR wherever possible. RiR rules are not as
onerous and exhaustive as the new PERM recruitment ruled. The RiR
regulations simply require the employer demonstrate a pattern of
recruitment for the jobs in question over the past 6 months. The
notice from DOL and the FAQ issued by DOL did not state how soon
after completion of recruitment the conversion request can be submitted.
Traditionally, RiR could not be filed until 30 days after the last
recruitment was completed. Unless I hear otherwise, I recommend
following such policy. In order to establish a pattern of recruitment
I recommend the following:
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Placement of at least two newspaper ads in the appropriate Sunday
newspaper on consecutive weeks.
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In some instances, substituting one newspaper ad with placement
in a national journal will be better.
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Placement at a job website for instance AJB, Monster, Dice, etc.
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Do not need to include salaries ("real world ads").
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Posting a notice of job opportunity at the place of employment.
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Obtaining new prevailing wage determination.
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If the company has recruited in the past six months for positions
substantially similar to the position involved in the Labor
Certification, please notify my office so we can assess if this
recruitment can be used.
It should be noted that, to date, none of the RiR cases my office
has at the BECs have been denied or challenged. All have been approved.
I strongly and generally recommend this conversion.
