In two recent rulings, the Board of Alien Labor Certification Appeals (“BALCA”) reversed denials of permanent labor certifications issued by Certifying Officers (“CO”). 

In the first case, BALCA applied Matter of Symantec to hold that including travel and home option requirements (employer had included ( “[w]illingness to travel; may require work from home”) on the employers website and a job search site, but not on Form ETA 9089, was not a basis to deny the certification.  Under the Matter of Symantec decision, the  inclusion of these requirements were permissible since the two recruitment sources were non-mandatory. 

In the second reversal, BALCA held that the submission by the employer of additional information (a letter establishing the lawful basis for the rejection of US applicants) in its request for a reconsideration of denial of the certification, became part of the record on appeal since the CO chose to consider it as part of the evidence.  Had the CO not chosen to consider the letter, the additional information would have been excluded from the record under 20 C.F.R. §656.24(g)(2).