The Justice Department announced on December 6 that it had reached an agreement with a nationwide provider of housekeeping, laundry, and food services for healthcare and nursing facilities. The agreement resolves the department’s findings that the company discriminated against non-US citizens authorized to work in the United States at its Siler, North Carolina, location and engaged in unfair practices concerning work authorization documents based on the worker’s citizenship status.
Following an investigation prompted by a worker’s complaint, the Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) determined that the company discriminated against a worker by refusing to accept her valid work authorization document because of her citizenship status. IER’s investigation also revealed that the company had a policy of unlawfully refusing to hire certain workers authorized to work, but who were not US citizens or lawful permanent residents (such as those granted asylum or refugee status), at its Siler City location from at least February 2022 to December 2022.
As part of the settlement, the company will pay a civil penalty to the United States and provide backpay to the affected worker. The agreement also requires the company to train its personnel on the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)’s requirements, revise its employment policies, expand recruitment efforts, avoid unnecessary English-language requirements in job ads, and submit to departmental monitoring.
“Employers cannot erect unlawful discriminatory barriers to work that exclude entire categories of workers with permission to work in the United States, based on citizenship status,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to hold employers accountable for violating federal civil rights laws.”
Find more information on how employers can avoid discrimination in recruitment, hiring and employment eligibility verification on IER’s website. Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
Employers with four or more employees cannot discriminate in hiring, firing, recruitment, or referral for a fee based on citizenship status. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits requesting specific or unnecessary documents based on a worker’s citizenship status, immigration status, or national origin during employment eligibility verification. The IER is responsible for enforcing this provision, which prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, recruitment, referral for a fee, unfair documentary practices, and retaliation or intimidation.
Discussion Points
- Review and update your policies and procedures to prevent discrimination based on citizenship status or national origin in all hiring and employment practices.
- Train staff on these policies and procedures, ensuring they understand how to prevent discrimination. Document the training and keep signed records in each employee’s education file.
- Conduct periodic audits to identify if employees have been discriminated against based on citizenship status or national origin. Also, review applicant files to ensure no discrimination occurred during the hiring process.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, Inc. for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
