The Department of Justice (“DOJ”) recently announced it has reached an agreement with a Minnesota-based frozen food company to resolve immigration-related discrimination claims. The settlement, which resolves allegations the company discriminated against non-U.S. citizens due to their citizenship status, highlights the Biden administration’s ongoing efforts to target and prosecute discriminatory practices in violation of U.S. immigration law.
According to the Department of Justice, an investigation revealed that the company routinely engaged in discriminatory practices including requesting work documentation from non-citizens while making no such request of U.S. citizens. Specifically, the company allegedly requested specific documentation issued by the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”). However, under U.S. immigration law, all employees in the United States have the right to choose which documentation to present when demonstrating their legal status to work in this country. Accordingly, these practices violated the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”).
The Jan. 10, 2022 announcement outlined the terms of the settlement agreement: the company agreed to pay $40,000.00 in civil penalties, adjust its employment policies to comply with the anti-discrimination policies of the INA, and train its employees to prevent future violations of the law.
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