Department of Labor Issues Revised Guidelines on Reduction in Recruitment (RIR) Requests

• Initial Review Provision
• Guidelines for Retest Requirements
• Options if Application Does Not Adequately Test the Market

On November 20, 2003, the Department of Labor (DOL) distributed a memo containing new guidelines for Reduction in Recruitment (RIR) processing. The memo addressed the DOL’s remand policy for RIR cases due the labor market conditions and the backlog of regular process cases at the state workforce agencies.

The adjudication of RIR labor certification cases has been unpredictable and erratic recently.  Various DOL offices had adopted a blanket remand policy for RIR cases in the technology sector.  This recent DOL memo establishes a standard policy for determining whether an employer has met the burden of testing the market and assess the availability of U.S. workers.

Initial Review Provision

All RIR applications must be reviewed to ensure the application is complete, the employer has demonstrated a pattern of recruitment, and has complied with applicable regulations.  The DOL then determines whether the minimum requirements are reasonable, or justified by a business necessity.  The officer also verifies that the requesting employer has not laid off U.S. workers who had been qualified for the position.  Certifying Officers (CO) may use their discretion to deny the employer RIR request at this stage of review.

Applications not meeting the current completeness/compliance requirements will be issued a Notice of Finding (NOF) as appropriate.

Guidelines for Retest Requirements

For applications that are complete and comply with the regulations, the memo imposes the following guidelines:

i. Applications for positions requiring a Bachelor’s Degree and three (3) or more years of experience or a Master’s Degree (+) six (6) months of experience (assuming these requirements are appropriate) should be certified and not subject to the retest provisions noted below.

ii. Applications not meeting the above criteria will be reviewed to determine if the level of recruitment and the detail provided in the recruitment report satisfy the Certifying Officer such that further recruitment is unnecessary. All such applications should be certified.

Options if Application Does Not Adequately Test the Market

If the company has not adequately tested the job market, in the opinion of the CO after reviewing the application, the DOL will give the employer the following options:

• Withdraw the application;
• Withdraw the RIR request and remand to the State Employment Agency to supervise recruiting; or,
• Conduct a one-day “retest” of the market.

For the one-day retest option, the employer may amend the job requirements since many applications were originally submitted with degree requirements only. The “bare bones” approach had been the standard practice for many practitioners prior to the economic downturn.  Employers are encouraged to submit any resumes that are received in connection with the one-day retest.