Instacart to Pay $5 Million to Settle Claims It Favored Visa Workers Over Americans

Instacart will pay $5 million to settle a federal investigation into claims that it discriminated against American workers in its hiring, the Justice Department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced on Tuesday. The settlement with Maplebear Inc., which does business as Instacart, resolves allegations that the San Francisco based grocery delivery company favored workers holding temporary employment visas over U.S. workers during recruitment tied to a federal sponsorship program.

Paper applications in an online hiring system

Investigators said the problem sat in the Permanent Labor Certification program, known as PERM. The program lets an employer sponsor a temporary visa holder for permanent resident status, but only after a good faith effort to recruit U.S. workers first. For jobs advertised through that process, Instacart required applications to be physically mailed in. Its standard recruitment accepted electronic applications. The Justice Department said the extra step burdened U.S. applicants, and many of the U.S. workers who applied were not considered on time as a result.

"This significant resolution marks the fifteenth settlement agreement the Civil Rights Division has reached under my leadership to protect U.S. workers," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "We will not stop fighting for U.S. workers until there is a fair playing field." EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said the settlement makes clear that when employers put up unlawful barriers that harm American workers, the EEOC will act.

What the settlement requires

Under the deal, Instacart will set up a fund of up to $4 million to compensate applicants, and people deterred from applying, who were affected by the practices between December 2023 and February 2026. A claims administrator will contact people who may qualify and decide who is eligible for back pay and damages. Until the administrator sets up its own contact address, the agencies are asking affected applicants to email [email protected]. Instacart will also pay $1 million in civil penalties to the United States.

The company must also give U.S. workers a fair chance to apply for PERM jobs. It has agreed to post those openings on its public career website and accept electronic applications for them. The agreement also requires training for staff on anti-discrimination rules, revised employment policies, and monitoring and reporting to the government.

One case in a wider crackdown

Instacart said its practices complied with the law. "While we maintain that our practices complied with all applicable laws and regulations, we're pleased to have resolved this matter so we can keep our full focus on delivering on our mission for customers, shoppers, retailers, and brands," the company said in a statement reported by Reuters. The settlement covers allegations under the Immigration and Nationality Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The agencies said the practices discriminated on the basis of citizenship status and national origin.

The case is the fifteenth settlement since the Justice Department relaunched its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative in 2025. Since the initiative first began, the department says it has secured more than $34 million in back pay for U.S. workers and more than $16 million in civil penalties from employers. Reuters reported that the department has reached more than a dozen settlements with companies accused of discriminating against Americans since last year, including a $3.2 million deal with OpenAI announced in August. OpenAI denied claims that it discouraged Americans from applying for jobs.