A Washington state-based home care provider reached a settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) to resolve allegations that it violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). It is alleged that the home care provider discriminated against non-US citizens through its use of E-Verify, which is an electronic program that enables enrolled employers to verify that their employees have permission to work in the United States.
After a DOJ investigation, it was determined that the home care provider only used E-Verify to confirm the permission to work of its non-US citizen employees and that they did not use the program for US citizen employees. All of the home care employees were found to be permitted to work in the United States, but the DOJ determined that when it required the non-US citizens to be verified through E-Verify, it created an additional burden in the hiring process. Employers cannot discriminate in their use of E-Verify based on citizenship or immigration status, under the INA and E-Verify program rules.
The settlement prohibits the home care provider from selectively using E-Verify to discriminate against employees based on their citizenship or immigration status. The home care provider must train its employees on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, change its policies and procedures, and be subject to monitoring for a three-year period.
The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits citizenship or immigration status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, recruitment, or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; and retaliation and intimidation.
A video about IER can be accessed here.
Job applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status, or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment, or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify) or who were subjected to retaliation can file charges. The public can contact the IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688, call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired), or reach out via email to IER@usdoj.gov.
Compliance Perspective
Issue
It is illegal for employers to discriminate against employees and applicants in the hiring, firing, and recruitment process because of someone’s citizenship status or national origin. Employers are not permitted to request different documents than necessary when verifying employment authorization for one group as compared to others. Additionally, employers are prohibited against intimidation, threats, coerciveness, or retaliation against individuals for filing charges with IER, cooperating with an IER investigation, opposing action that may constitute unfair documentary practices or discrimination based upon citizenship status or national origin, or otherwise asserting their rights under the INA’s anti-discrimination provision.
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 these trainings occurred, and file the individual 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 or national origin.
*This news alert has been prepared by Med-Net Concepts, LLC for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice.*
