On April 30, 2024, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had secured a settlement agreement with a management company operating an assisted living facility in Bethesda, Maryland. The agreement addresses allegations of employment discrimination under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The DOJ initiated an investigation following a complaint made by an employee who had been granted asylum. The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) determined that the company had violated the INA by discriminating against the employee. Specifically, the company rejected the valid work authorization document that she had provided and demanded instead that she produce an unnecessary alternative immigration document. When the employee couldn’t provide the requested document, the company placed her on indefinite unpaid administrative leave.
Under the agreement, the company will pay a civil penalty to the United States, train its human resources staff on the INA’s requirements, and be subject to department monitoring. The company previously removed the employee from indefinite unpaid leave and paid her lost wages, after the worker called IER’s worker hotline and requested assistance in addressing the situation.
IER is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation, and intimidation. Each year, IER assists hundreds of workers whose employers are preventing them from working due to unnecessary document demands or rejections of valid work documentation.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
An employer can’t fire or refuse to hire someone granted asylum or refugee status based on citizenship or immigration status, unless a law, regulation, government contract, or executive order requires the employer to do so. This exception is rare and does not apply to the vast majority of jobs. An employer that believes a certain position requires it to hire someone with a specific citizenship or immigration status should carefully review the legal support for the requirement to ensure it falls within the exception. Federal law allows workers to choose which legally acceptable documentation to provide that verifies their identity and permission to work, regardless of citizenship, immigration status, or national origin. Employers cannot demand more documents than are necessary or specify documentation they prefer to see as part of this process.
Discussion Points
- Review your policies and procedures on preventing citizenship and national origin discrimination for all employees and potential employees. Update as necessary.
- Train staff on your policies for preventing citizenship and national origin discrimination for employees and potential employees. Document that the training occurred, and file the signed documents in each employee’s education file.
- Periodically audit employees to determine if they have ever been discriminated against because of their citizenship status or national origin. Additionally, periodically review potential employees’ application files to ensure that discrimination in the hiring process did not occur during the selection of applicants because of citizenship status, national origin, or any other invalid reason.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
