As of today, the Department of Labor's Atlanta National Processing Center (ANPC) will be changing its procedure regarding requests for reconsideration of denied PERM Labor Certifications. Beginning on October 27, 2014, the ANPC will no longer automatically forward Requests for Reconsideration to the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) where the Certifying Officer upholds the original denial of the PERM. Requests for BALCA review must now be made affirmatively no later than 30 days after the request for reconsideration before the Certifying Officer is denied. See the DOL's FAQs for additional information.

On August 28, 2014, the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) issued a decision finding that an employer's name must be explicitly stated on the Notice of Filing that must be posted at the workplace where the Beneficiary of the Labor Certification will work. In Matter of Tera Technologies, Inc., the employer had used the phrase "Our Company" on its notice of filing. The Department of Labor's Certifying Officer found that this did not meet the regulatory requirement that the employer explicitly state its name on the Notice of Filing. Although the employer argued that all employees who saw the Notice would know that it was for their company because the phrase "our company" was used and the employees knew the contact person listed on the Notice, BALCA held that the Certifying Officer was correct in denying certification.

On January 30, 2014, the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (BALCA) reversed the denial of a Labor Certification submitted by the Clariden School for the position of “AMI Montessori Elementary Teacher.” The certification was initially denied because the school indicated on the ETA Form 9089 that the minimum educational requirement for the position was a Bachelor’s degree. The school reported that the highest level of education achieved by the foreign worker was “AMI Certification.” Although the school submitted a document from the Montessori Training Center of Minnesota stating that a Bachelor’s degree is required for admission to its AMI Montessori Diploma program, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) contended that the school’s representation on Form 9089 did not enable DOL to verify that the foreign worker earned a Bachelor’s degree, and should have used the free form space on the Form to disclose that the foreign worker possessed a Bachelor’s degree on top of AMI Certification.

The Board of Alien Labor Certifications (BALCA) issued a new decision clarifying the regulations on recruiting steps for professional positions at 20 CFR 656.17(e)(1)(ii)(D) (participation in a Campus Career Fair) and (e)(1)(G) (Posting an ad in a college campus career placement office). In Matter of MICRON TECHNOLOGY, INC, the PERM Labor Certification filed by the employer was originally denied by the Department of Labor because the DOL found that the employer did submit sufficient documentation of two of its recruitment methods: On Campus Recruiting and Campus Placement Office Advertising.