DOJ Cracks Down on Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination
To strike a balance between immigration worksite enforcement and the civil rights of workers, Congress included an anti-discrimination provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), barring employers from treating non-citizens differently than U.S. citizens in the I-9 process. While employers are prohibited from hiring unauthorized workers, they may not, in the employment eligibility verification process, request more documentation than is required from individuals who look or sound foreign. They must treat all work-authorized individuals the same in hiring, firing and recruitment, regardless of citizenship status or national origin.
The Civil Rights Division's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) , Department of Justice (DOJ), is charged with enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The DOJ recently settled two major immigration-related employment discrimination cases against a Wendy's franchise owner and the Maricopa County Community College District.
Wendy's Franchise Owner
On April 26, Restwend LLC, corporate owner of about 15 Wendy's restaurants in Maine, agreed to pay $14,500 in back pay, plus interest, and $3,200 in civil penalties to settle the DOJ's lawsuit alleging that at least one of its restaurants refused to hire individuals believed to be non-citizens. The DOJ charged that this citizen-only hiring policy violated the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.
Restwend also agreed to train its human resources personnel about the employer's non-discrimination responsibilities under the INA and to abide by monitoring provisions.
Maricopa County Community College District
On May 16, the Maricopa County Community College District in Arizona agreed to pay nearly $68,000 in civil penalties and back pay to settle the DOJ's lawsuit accusing it of discriminating against non-citizens in the hiring and employment-eligibility verification process.
In the lawsuit filed last August, the DOJ claimed the district had a policy of requiring newly hired non-citizens , who are authorized to work, to produce documents that it did not require U.S. citizens to produce, and that are not mandated by federal law. As a result of this policy, at least two individuals were not allowed to start their employment, despite presenting sufficient documentation to show their employment eligibility. They included a permanent resident who had accepted an adjunct mathematics faculty appointment and an honor student who was to begin a federal work-study position. Both will receive full back pay.
In accordance with the settlement agreement, the district agreed to change its practices to ensure that non-citizens and citizens are treated the same in the employment eligibility verification process. The district will also train its human resources personnel about non-discrimination responsibilities in the employment eligibility verification process, produce I-9 forms for inspection, and provide periodic reports to the DOJ for three years.
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