Apple agrees to pay US $25 million in back pay and civil penalties to settle a matter over their hiring practices under the Immigration and Nationality Act, the Department of Justice announced .

According to the DOJ, Apple has agreed to pay US $6.75 million in civil penalties and establish an $18.25 million fund for back pay to eligible discrimination victims.

“These less effective recruitment procedures deter U.S. applicants from applying and nearly always resulted in zero or very few mailed applications that Apple considered for PERM-related job positions, which allowed Apple to fill the positions with temporary visa holders,” according to the settlement agreement between Apple and the DOJ.

The DOJ said that Apple violated the” INA’s anti-discrimination requirements during Apple’s recruitment for positions falling under the permanent labor certification program (PERM).”

The PERM program is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,  employers can sponsor workers for lawful permanent resident status in the United States after completing recruitment and meeting other program requirements.

 “Any U.S. employer that utilizes the PERM program cannot illegally discriminate in hiring or recruitment based on citizenship or immigration status,” said the department in a statement.