Hey Erik

>From what I understand this only applies to employees and does not affect
future contractors. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

J

On Thu, Mar 19, 2026 at 4:11 PM Erik Moeller via Wikimedia-l <
[email protected]> wrote:

> Hi there,
>
> It looks like the number of US states WMF can currently hire from
> excludes quite a few states (e.g., Nevada, Maine, New Hampshire,
> Kansas, etc.). [1] My understanding is that the list of countries from
> which the Wikimedia Foundation can hire has also been rather
> substantially reduced recently (e.g., no longer including Denmark,
> Ireland, Sweden, Costa Rica).
>
> In my view, as an international org, WMF should ideally aspire to hire
> amazing people wherever they may be. There will naturally be limits,
> especially when maintaining a legal presence in a particular country
> imposes unacceptable risks on the organization or its employees.
>
> That said, I would distinguish between 1) intractable limits ("we
> can't be in this country because it would expose us to too much risk")
> and 2) limits imposed by cost/benefit calculations ("we can't hire in
> Nevada because we don't judge the talent pool to be worth the cost").
>
> In the latter case, I hope WMF will prioritize being expansive rather
> than restrictive, because the ability to hire as broadly as possible
> should be understood as a core value. Given the broader organizational
> and movement value considerations, I feel this is an appropriate topic
> for this list.
>
> (Please note that I say this with much love and respect for the work
> legal and HR professionals do navigating these complex matters daily.
> Ultimately, this feels like a leadership question to me: what is the
> ability to hire in more locations worth to the organization?)
>
> What's WMF's take on that question? Does the organization view
> expanding that list again as a future goal?
>
> Warmly,
>
> Erik
>
> [1]
> https://job-boards.greenhouse.io/wikimedia/jobs/7612860?gh_src=vbdohg801us
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-- 
James Heilman
MD, CCFP-EM, Wikipedian
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