Professional V. Non-Professional Newspaper Ads.Pdf
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Professional vs. Non-Professional Newspaper Ads by Joel Stewart The criteria for the proper choice of newspapers for each city are not explained in the PERM regulations. This is not surprising, because the government could hardly direct private employers to use one newspaper and not another. However, the regulation does state that employers must place advertisements “on two different Sundays 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 US workers.” 20 CFR Sec. 656.17(c)(1)(i)(B)(l). Common sense and experience has taught employers which newspapers are commonly used and accepted by DOL to advertise specific kinds of jobs, and one can look to circulation data provided by newspapers as well as local customs and industry standards for further guidance. In Capitol Building Services, Incorporated, 2012-PER-1971, BALCA reviewed a case in which the Employer had advertised not in the Washington Post, but in The Washington Examiner, a newspaper, which does not have the highest circulation in the area. Counsel for the Employer argued that The Examiner is a "well-rounded, local newspaper that not only meets the regulation’s requirements, but that it is a better choice for publishing employment related announcements." It so happens that The Examiner is a free newspaper, while The Washington Post costs $2.00 for a Sunday edition, and Counsel argued that access to a free newspaper makes it more likely to bring responses. The Board mentioned several pre-PERM BALCA cases, one being Computech International, and Montclair Body Shop, which stand for the proposition that size is not the sole criteria to test which newspaper is most likely to bring responses. The CO presented an analysis which took into consideration two factors -- the nature of a newspaper’s job classified advertisements, including the types of job opportunities being advertised, and the size of the classified section. A comparison of the two newspapers revealed that The Post has substantially more advertisements and a wider range of occupations than The Examiner. The Employer responded that the number of classified ads was not a legitimate criterion to decide which newspaper is most appropriate and that the important argument in favor of The Examiner appeared to be the fact that non- professional positions, such as the one being offered by the Employer, were more appropriate to advertise in suburban newspapers like the Examiner. In an earlier case, Intercontinental Enterprises, Inc., the Board had ruled that only the Post was appropriate in the Washington area, but the position in that case was professional (a Senior Food Technologist), while in the instant case, the job was a Cleaning Supervisor, a non-professional position, and the only requirement was two years of experience in the job offered. The Board ruled that if the job is professional, a larger urban circulation might be best, but if the job were non- professional, a newspaper like The Examiner was appropriate, and free of cost which for some occupations may be a factor in selecting the most appropriate newspaper. I asked AdNet’s CEO, Kiran Vairale, to provide information about major metropolitan areas in the US, specifically which newspapers would be best for professional or non-professionals. Kiran stated, that not too many cities have a choice of multiple newspapers. But where there are multiple choices, employers look at the classified section of the newspaper to see the kinds of ads that are advertised, review the reader demographics provided by the publisher, and check the circulation figures on Sundays before deciding. For example: In New York City, The New York Times, The New York Post, and the New York Daily News there are ads for professional positions in all 3 newspapers. However, The New York Times and The New York Post have more professional ads listed in their classified section than The New York Daily News. For Non-Professional job it is the opposite – you will find more non-professional jobs in The New York Daily News and The New York Post as opposed to The New York Times. There are, however, attorneys and employers who will make their decision based on the cost of the ads since circulation figures for all three newspapers are large and competitive. In New Jersey, The Newark Star Ledger and The Bergen Record are both available (depending on the job location). In Los Angeles, The Los Angeles Times is used for professional jobs more often than The Los Angeles Daily News, but, there are people who place Professional jobs in the LA Daily News. However, many other cities in the vicinity have newspapers with a large circulation and classified section (e.g. The Orange County Register, Riverside Press- Enterprise, etc.) so the choice of newspaper can vary depending on the location of the job opportunity. In Florida, it would be The Miami Herald if the job is in Dade or Miami County and The Sun-Sentinel if in Broward County (Fort Lauderdale), although The Miami Herald would also work for Broward County. In Chicago, The Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun Times both have high circulation numbers and either one is good for Professional jobs, although people tend to use The Chicago Tribune more often for Professional jobs. Most other large cities now have just one paper that monopolizes the market. If Capitol Building Services is the last word from the Board on this issue, it seems that the consensus of BALCA is that the most appropriate newspaper in which to advertise would be the newspaper with largest circulation, except if the specific job opportunity is more likely to attract US workers because it can be demonstrated that they read a newspaper other than the one with largest circulation, and that in some markets, where there are still multiple, major newspapers, the fact that one has a higher circulation than the other should not be the only criterion for selection, especially if it can be proven that the secondary newspaper chosen by the Employer is more appropriate for the specific type of job offer. .