Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon announced a settlement with Elegant Enterprise-Wide Solutions over discriminatory hiring practices that excluded American workers through AI-generated job ads.
WASHINGTON, DC – Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division has announced a settlement with Elegant Enterprise-Wide Solutions, a Virginia-based IT firm. This settlement follows allegations that the company utilized artificial intelligence to create job advertisements that unlawfully excluded American workers.
The AI-generated job postings specifically restricted applicants to certain visa holders, including H-1B, OPT, or H-4 visa holders, which is a violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Dhillon emphasized the importance of fair hiring practices, stating that it is “unconscionable” for companies to exclude U.S. workers during recruitment. She further asserted that the Department of Justice will not tolerate discrimination against domestic workers, regardless of whether a human recruiter or an AI tool is responsible for drafting the job advertisements.
According to the agreement signed on February 23, 2026, Elegant Enterprise-Wide Solutions will pay a civil penalty of $9,460. This settlement represents the eighth resolution since the relaunch of the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative in 2025, which aims to enforce prohibitions against favoring employment-visa holders over domestic talent.
In addition to the financial penalty, the settlement requires the company to eliminate all citizenship-based restrictions in hiring and firing practices unless such restrictions are legally authorized. The firm is also mandated to provide comprehensive training for its recruiters on anti-discrimination laws and is prohibited from intimidating or coercing anyone involved in the investigation.
The Justice Department continues to pursue maximum penalties and back pay in similar cases to ensure equitable access to job opportunities for all authorized workers, according to IANS.