PERM Recruitment Report and Audit File: What Employers Should Save

The PERM recruitment report is more than a closing memo. It is the employer's record of the recruitment steps taken, the results achieved, the number of U.S. applicants, and the lawful job-related reasons any applicants were rejected.

Employers should save proof of each recruitment step, dated advertisements, job order records, website postings, resumes received, interview notes, applicant communications, prevailing wage materials, notice of filing documentation, and the signed recruitment report. The file should be understandable years later if the Department of Labor audits the case.

Rejection reasons should be specific, job-related, and tied to the actual minimum requirements. Vague labels like "not qualified" are weaker than notes explaining which required education, experience, skill, license, location, or availability issue made the applicant unqualified.

New Horizons Legal helps employers build PERM audit files during recruitment instead of trying to reconstruct the case after an audit letter arrives.