Citizenship status errors cost employers in DOJ settlements

The U.S. Department of Justice has recently announced several settlements addressing various forms of employment discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin.

These cases, handled by the Immigrant and Employee Rights Section of the department’s Civil Rights Division since June 2024, provide lessons for employers about hiring practices and document verification processes.

• Temporary protected status: A Chicago-based transportation and parking management company settled a case involving the rejection of an employment authorization document from a worker with temporary protected status.

In certain circumstances, such as ongoing litigation or administrative delays, the federal government can automatically extend the validity of employment authorization documents beyond their printed expiration date. Employers need to be aware of these extensions and know how to verify them.

In this situation, the company incorrectly rejected the document because it listed the employee’s country of birth as the Bahamas rather than Haiti, the country through which she has a TPS. To verify the document, the employer could have checked the category code through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ website, which would have showed a valid extension.

As part of the settlement, the company agreed to offer reinstatement and back pay to the affected worker and to pay a civil penalty of $2,000.

• Unjustified citizenship preference in hiring: A Wisconsin-based transportation management company settled a case after withdrawing a job offer based solely on the candidate’s non-U.S. citizen status. The Immigrant and Employee Rights Section concluded the company did not have any legal justification for withdrawing the offer.

Employers cannot exclude people with permission to work in the United States because of their citizenship status unless citizenship status is explicitly required by law or contract. The company will pay a civil penalty of $4,610, compensate the affected worker, and implement changes to prevent similar incidents in the future.

• Noncompliant job advertisements: An online nationwide staffing agency settled a case involving job advertisements that contained unlawful hiring restrictions based on citizenship status. This practice potentially deterred qualified candidates from applying and led to the improper screening of applicants based on their citizenship status.

The settlement includes $232,500 in civil penalties and $325,000 set aside for affected workers. The case demonstrates the need for careful review of job postings to ensure they do not contain discriminatory language or requirements.

• Discriminatory document verification practices: A California-based staffing agency, as a successor to a previous business entity, settled a case involving discriminatory document verification practices. The previous entity had required non-U.S. citizens to present specific documentation to prove work authorization, while allowing U.S. citizens more flexibility.

Workers have the right to choose which valid, legally acceptable documents to present for verification. As part of the settlement, the employer agreed to pay $46,050 in civil penalties.

Employers should take notice that these settlements reflect the Justice Department’s commitment to enforcing the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke emphasized in several statements that employers must not discriminate based on citizenship status or national origin when verifying work authorization or during the hiring process.

This report was originally published in the New England Biz Law Update.