A multinational software company is suing the U.S. Labor Department for refusing to allow the firm to hire a foreign worker, in a dispute that features as its centerpiece a job posting on Monster.com that put the salary of the position at less than $1.00.

Chesterfield, Missouri-based Amdocs Inc. filed a lawsuit last week against the Labor Department in Washington's federal trial court for the agency's refusal to approve a “labor certification application.” That certification allows a company to hire a foreign worker to work permanently in the U.S.

The company filed for the certification in 2011 to hire a “development group leader.” Part of the process required the company show the job would be available to any would-be U.S. worker and so it posted the job on Monster.com, the third-party job recruiting website.