The Department of Labor requires employers to advertise positions that they intend to submit a PERM application on to publish the job position in the local newspaper of general circulation. Generally, this means the largest newspaper in the given geographic area.
A 2012 decision by the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals supports this analysis. In that case, the employer Intercontinental Enterprises, Inc., filed a Form 9089 Application for Permanent Employment Certification. The company ran two Sunday newspaper advertisements in something called the Washington Examiner. The Certifying Officer denied certification of the PERM application, finding that the Examiner was not the newspaper of general circulation.
The CO concluded that workers would look to the largest classified section in town when looking for a job. The regulations provide that the posting appear "“in the newspaper of general circulation in the area of intended employment most appropriate to the occupation and the
workers likely to apply for the job opportunity and most likely to bring responses from able, willing, qualified, and available U.S. workers.” The BALCA noted that the Washington Post was the newspaper of general circulation for Washington, D.C.
This case stands for the clear rule that the employer must use the largst newspaper in town. So don't try and use a smaller, alternative newspaper when posting the position.
