The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)  recently announced a settlement agreement with a Minnesota based staffing company. This settlement is a result of a DOJ investigation which determined that the staffing company violated the Immigration and Nationality Action (INA) anti-discrimination provision during the Form I-9 document review process. 

According to the terms of the settlement agreement the staffing company is ordered to pay $250,000  in civil fines and create a backpay fund of $100,000 for employees who were discriminated against.

What led to the settlement?

The staffing company routinely requested green cards and additional unnecessary documents from lawful permanent residents in order to verify their employment eligibility. Requesting specific work authorization documents for U.S. citizens and non-citizens is a form of discrimination under the INA. 

Why requesting specific documents violates the law

Employers should never request specific documents to prove identity or work authorization during the document review process for Form I-9 verification. They must instead, allow workers to present whatever acceptable documentation the employee chooses and cannot reject valid documentation that reasonably appears to be genuine. In addition, if a lawful permanent resident provides an unexpired permanent resident card to prove their permission to work, employers must not request new documentation if the permanent resident card later expires. The INA prohibits employers from unnecessarily reverifying a worker’s permission to work.

“When employees present legally acceptable documentation to demonstrate their permission to work, employers cannot demand different or additional documents because of the employees’ citizenship or immigration status,” stated Assistant Attorney General, Kristen Clarke of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

To better understand the document review process for Section 2 of the I-9 check out our recent blog article. 

Last year several organizations were fined for similar discrimination procedures during the onboarding and I-9 process, and another staffing company was fined more than 1.5M for administrative Form I-9 related errors. Fines like these can be detrimental, and failure to comply with I-9 and E-Verify requirements can lead to greater scrutiny and liability.

Learn how a Form I-9 compliance solution can help you and your staff avoid discrimination and other administrative mistakes. Get in touch with an I-9 specialist to learn more about how Clear I-9 can help your organization with Form I-9 and E-Verify compliance.