Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–September 27, 2013. The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with Paramount Staffing, a staffing company based in Northbrook, Ill., resolving an allegation that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by requesting more or different documents from individuals during the employment eligibility verification processes based on the individuals’ citizenship status.
The department’s investigation concluded that Paramount Staffing’s Hanover Park, Ill., branch routinely required specific, DHS-issued documentation from lawful permanent residents for the employment eligibility verification processes (Form I-9 and E-Verify) while not making similar demands of U.S. citizens. The anti-discrimination provision of the INA prohibits employers from using discriminatory documentary policies, procedures or requirements based on citizenship status or national origin when initially determining or subsequently re-verifying an employee’s authorization for employment.
Paramount Staffing cooperated with the department’s investigation and has agreed to pay $21,100 in civil penalties to the United States, undergo Justice Department training on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, and be subject to monitoring of its employment eligibility verification practices for a period of 18 months. The case settled prior to the filing of a complaint.
“The INA’s anti-discrimination provision requires employers to treat individuals in a nondiscriminatory manner during the employment eligibility verification processes,” said Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights. “We commend Paramount Staffing for taking immediate steps to rectify the issues raised in the department’s investigation.”
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under the immigration laws, call the OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired), call the OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired), sign up for a free webinar at www.justice.gov/about/osc/webinars.php , email [email protected] or visit the website at www.justice.gov/crt/about/osc .
Source: justice.gov
