The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission announced a $5,000,000 joint settlement with Maplebear Inc., doing business as Instacart, on October 20, 2026, resolving allegations that the company discriminated against U.S. workers in hiring tied to the PERM labor certification process. The agencies said Instacart's PERM recruitment intentionally preferred workers with temporary employment visas, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act's citizenship-status protections and Title VII's prohibition on national origin discrimination. Investigators found Instacart required applications for PERM-advertised positions to be physically mailed - departing from its standard electronic application process - so many U.S. workers who applied were not timely considered. Under the settlement, Instacart will establish a fund of up to $4,000,000 to compensate applicants and deterred applicants affected from December 2023 to February 2026, with a claims administrator determining eligibility for back pay and compensatory damages. The company will also pay $1,000,000 in civil penalties to the United States. Instacart must additionally post PERM-related positions on its public career website, accept electronic applications, train personnel on anti-discrimination obligations, revise employment policies, and submit to monitoring and reporting requirements. '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. EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas said the agency 'will act decisively' when employers erect unlawful barriers harming American workers. For workers: applicants or deterred applicants who believe they were affected can email Instacart@eeoc.gov until the claims administrator establishes a contact address. The DOJ says its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative has secured over $34 million in back pay and over $16 million in civil penalties since its original launch; the EEOC counts this as its fourth public settlement involving anti-American national origin discrimination since 2025 under Project Firewall.