DOJ-RESTAURANT SETTLE ALLEGED INA VIOLATIONS

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Friday, November 15, 2013
Justice Department and San Francisco Restaurant Settle Immigration-Related Discrimination Claim

The Justice Department today reached an agreement with Kim Hoang Coffee and Fast Food, a restaurant in San Francisco, resolving claims that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

In a charge filed with the department, a work-authorized immigrant alleged, and the department found, that Kim Hoang Coffee and Fast Food improperly rejected valid work-authorization documents when re-verifying her authorization for employment, which caused the immigrant to believe she had been terminated.  The investigation also revealed that the employer believed she could ask non-U.S. citizens to produce specific documents to establish work authorization upon initial hire, but did not need to make similar demands of U.S. citizens.  The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from discriminating against non-U.S. citizens in the employment eligibility verification process by demanding different documentation than U.S. citizens are required to present.

In response to the department’s investigation, Kim Hoang Coffee and Fast Food offered to rehire the charging party and provide back pay for the charging party’s month of lost wages.  Under the terms of the agreement, Kim Hoang Coffee and Fast Food must pay $485 in civil penalties to the United States, undergo 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 three years.  The employer also agreed to post the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices’ (OSC) “Right to Work” poster, which highlights the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.  The case settled prior to the department filing a complaint in this matter.

“Imposing different documentary requirements on individuals based on their citizenship status during the employment eligibility verification process is discrimination prohibited by the INA,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Jocelyn Samuels.  “The Department of Justice is committed to protecting U.S. citizens and all work-authorized immigrants from document abuse.”

The OSC is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA.

DOJ AND RHODE ISLAND COMPANY SETTLE UNFAIR EMPLOYMENT PRACTICES CHARGES

FROM: U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Rhode Island Company to Resolve Immigration-related Unfair Employment Practices

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached an agreement with Vincent Porcaro Inc. (VPI) resolving allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). VPI is a Rhode Island company that provides warehousing, distribution, light assembly and packaging for regional, national and international companies.


The department’s investigation was initiated based on a referral from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The department’s investigation found that VPI, beginning in October 2012, required non-citizens to present specific U.S. Department of Homeland Security-issued documents to establish their identity and work authorization while not making similar requests of U.S. citizens. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from discriminating against noncitizens in the employment eligibility verification process by demanding more or different documents than U.S. citizens are required to present.

Under the settlement agreement, VPI agreed to provide training to its human resources personnel on the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, pay $43,092 in civil penalties to the United States, create a $30,000 back pay fund to compensate individuals who suffered economic injuries as a result of VPI’s documentary practices, and be subject to monitoring by the department for a period of two years.

"Employers who create or change their employment eligibility verification policies and practices have an obligation to ensure that those changes are consistent with the anti-discrimination provision of the INA," said Gregory Friel, Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "The division is committed to identifying and addressing employer policies and practices that do not satisfy that obligation."

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The case was handled by Trial Attorney Liza Zamd.