IER LETTERS OF RESOLUTIONS FY 2022

IER issued letters of resolution to U.S. employers who voluntarily entered into bi-lateral and unilateral settlement agreements with the charging parties resolving discrimination charges.  Letters of resolution were also issued to conclude independent investigations where the employer has voluntarily corrected its practices and no victims were identified.

The following are summaries of letters of resolutions issued in fiscal year 2022 (October 1, 2021 - September 30, 2022):

On October 14, 2021, IER issued a letter of resolution (“LOR”) closing an independent investigation into possible hiring discrimination by  an IT staffing company that had posted a job advertisement seeking candidates who held L1 visas for potential  H1b sponsorship.  While IER’s investigation did not find sufficient evidence to support a reasonable cause finding, the investigation  revealed deficiencies in the company’s recruitment process that, if not addressed, could lead to violations of 8 U.S.C. § 1324b.  The LOR memorializes the company’s unilateral commitments to ensure that job advertisements do not limit its application pool to certain temporary visa holders or contain citizenship status requirements; ensure that all individuals responsible for drafting or approving job advertisements attend an IER Employer/HR Representative webinar; read IER’s webpage “Best Practices for Recruiting and Hiring Workers” and IER’s flyer “Information for Employers About Citizenship Status Discrimination;” update its Recruitment Policy & Procedure Manual and keep it updated; and ensure that new and existing employees maintain  access to the updated manual. (Virginia)

On October 18, 2021, IER issued a letter of resolution (LOR) dismissing a charge against a coffee-roasting company for potential unfair documentary practices on the basis of citizenship status.  The charging party applied for a position and alleged that based on her Native American national origin the company rejected her Tribal Identification and her Certificate of Indian Blood, and then specifically requested a copy of her birth certificate, during the work authorization verification process.  IER identified deficiencies in the company’s on-boarding processes that could lead to statutory violations and the company agreed to undertake a number of actions avoid possible future violations of 8 U.S.C. § 1324b.  The LOR memorializes the company’s unilateral commitments to ensure that its management and on-boarding staff are trained in and aware of the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. (Olympia, WA)

On October 27, 2021, IER issued a letter of resolution (“LOR”) dismissing a charge against an IT staffing company for potential citizenship status discrimination in the recruitment for a fee process.  The charging party alleged that the company recruited him to schedule an initial introductory meeting to discuss a potential placement with a client.  The staffing company informed the charging party that in order to schedule a meeting the charging party was required to identify the basis for his work authorization and identify whether he was a U.S. Citizen, Student Visa Holder, an H1-B worker, or a Lawful Permanent Resident.  The CP challenged the company’s question and chose not to pursue the recruitment process.  IER identified deficiencies in the company’s recruitment and hiring practices that could lead to statutory violations, and the company agreed to make a number of commitments to avoid possible future violations of 8 U.S.C. § 1324b.  (Walnut Creek, CA)

On October 29, 2021, IER issued a letter of resolution (LOR) dismissing a charge against an IT consulting company for potential citizenship status discrimination in recruitment and hiring. The charging party applied for a position with the company in response to an advertisement on a job website that encouraged candidates with specific temporary visa statuses to apply.  IER identified deficiencies in the company’s recruitment and hiring practices that could lead to statutory violations, and the company agreed to make a number of commitments to avoid possible future violations of 8 U.S.C. § 1324b. The LOR memorializes the company’s commitment to refrain from posting advertisements that mention a specific citizenship or visa status, unless there is a valid reason under 8 U.S.C. § 1324b. The company also agreed to screen all advertisements posted by contractor recruiters and will attend an IER Employer webinar training. (Herdon, VA)

On December 3, 2021, IER issued a letter of resolution (LOR) dismissing a charge against an IT staffing firm for potential citizenship status discrimination in recruitment and hiring. The charging party applied for a position with the company in response to an advertisement on a job website that encouraged candidates with F and H visa types to apply.  IER identified deficiencies in the company’s training, recruitment, and hiring practices that could lead to statutory violations, and the company committed to make changes to avoid possible future violations of 8 U.S.C. § 1324b. The LOR memorializes the company’s commitment to provide training materials related to avoiding discrimination in recruitment, referring, hiring, and onboarding job candidates to all new hires involved in those functions and to attend an IER Employer webinar training. (Edison, NJ)

On January 27, 2022, IER issued a letter of resolution (“LOR”) to a Maine-based employer closing an independent investigation into possible unfair documentary practices in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324b.  Although there was insufficient evidence to support a reasonable cause finding that the business engaged in unfair documentary practices, the investigation identified deficiencies in the business’s employment eligibility verification (EEV) policies and procedures that, if left unaddressed, could lead to violations of the INA’s anti-discriminatory provision.  The letter of resolution outlines the company’s unilateral commitment to have its human resources participate in IER training, to comply with the rules and regulations in connection with its EEV process, show non-citizen new hires the List of Acceptable Documents in relevant languages other than English routinely encountered among its workforce, and to contract with language interpreters as needed to assist in the EEV process. (Maine)

On January 28, 2022, IER issued a letter of resolution (LOR) dismissing a charge against security intelligence company for potential citizenship status discrimination in recruitment and hiring. The Charging Party applied for a high intelligence risk position with the company and was denied the position due to Charging Party’s prior affiliations.  IER identified deficiencies in the company’s training, recruitment, and hiring practices that could lead to statutory violations, and the company committed to make changes to avoid possible future violations of 8 U.S.C. § 1324b. The LOR memorializes the company’s commitment to avoid posting discriminatory advertisements and provide training materials related to avoiding discrimination in recruitment, referring, hiring, and onboarding job candidates to all new hires involved in those functions and to attend an IER Employer webinar training. (Somerville, MA)

On February 15, 2022, IER issued a letter of resolution (LOR) dismissing a charge filed by a lawful permanent resident against a food services company alleging citizenship status discrimination in firing, and retaliation.  In response to a pre-charge hotline intervention, the employer admitted to improperly suspending the charging party after receiving a Tentative Non-Confirmation from E-Verify and put the charging party back on the schedule.  However, the charging party subsequently alleged that the employer thereafter terminated her in retaliation for her calling IER’s hotline.  Although IER was unable to substantiate the charging party’s claims of unlawful termination and retaliation under 8 U.S.C. 1324b, it did identify deficiencies in the company’s use of E-Verify and processing of Forms I-9 that could, if not addressed, lead to future statutory violations.  The LOR memorializes the company’s commitment to (1) pay the charging party $198.91 in back-pay for the work she missed due to the unlawful suspension, and (2) require current and future employees involved in hiring and onboarding to complete an IER Employer webinar training. (Edison, NJ)

On March 30, 2022, IER issued a letter of resolution (“LOR”) closing a charge alleging that an information systems company based in Texas had engaged in citizenship status discrimination in hiring by posting a job advertisement that appeared to limit applicants to those with H-1B visa status. While IER’s investigation did not find sufficient evidence to support a reasonable cause finding of discrimination, the investigation revealed deficiencies in the company’s recruitment process that, if not addressed, could lead to violations of 8 U.S.C. § 1324b.  The LOR memorializes the company’s unilateral commitments to ensure that its job advertisements in the future do not unlawfully limit its recruitment to certain temporary visa holders or contain unauthorized citizenship status requirements; develop and apply a mechanism to monitor job postings; ensure that all individuals responsible for drafting or approving job advertisements attend an IER Employer/HR Representative webinar; read IER’s webpage “Best Practices for Recruiting and Hiring Workers” and IER’s flyer “Information for Employers About Citizenship Status Discrimination.” (Plano, TX)

On April 13, 2022, IER issued a letter of resolution (LOR) dismissing a charge against a car dealership for potential unfair documentary practices on the basis of citizenship status, citizenship status discrimination, and retaliation.  The charging party alleged that he was asked to show his Permanent Resident Card when the receipt he had presented at the time of hire expired, and because he could not do so, the employer terminated his employment and would not rehire him.  Although IER’s investigation did not find reasonable cause to believe the company committed an unfair documentary practice based on citizenship status when it terminated his employment, or engaged in retaliation when it did not rehire him despite him having sufficient documentation to establish his work authorization, IER identified deficiencies in HR training and employment eligibility verification practices at the dealership which, if left unaddressed, could lead to violations in the future.  The LOR memorializes the company’s unilateral commitment to have staff responsible for EEV attend an IER HR/Employer webinar, to provide Form I-9 guidance documents to HR staff, and to direct new hires the List of Acceptable Documents when they are informed of the need to present documentation of identity and work authorization to support the Form I-9, and when they are asked to present such documents. (Stuart, FL)

On May 10, 2022, IER issued a letter of resolution (LOR) dismissing a charge against an IT consulting company alleging citizenship status discrimination in recruitment and hiring. The Charging Party believed the company had a preference favoring the hiring of temporary foreign workers based on a job posting placed by the company that encouraged candidates with specific temporary visa statuses to apply. While IER’s investigation did not establish discriminatory hiring or recruiting in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324b, it did identify deficiencies in the company’s recruitment practices that could, if not addressed, lead to such violations.  During the course of the investigation, the company took or made a number of steps and commitments to address the deficiencies identified as a result of IER’s investigation. Among those commitments by the company was a commitment to refrain from posting advertisements that seek candidates with specific citizenship statuses unless required to comply with a statute, regulation, government contract or Executive Order In addition, all company and contractor recruiters will attend an IER Employer webinar training. (Piscataway, NJ)

On May 10, 2022, IER issued a letter of resolution (LOR) dismissing a charge against an IT consulting company alleging citizenship status discrimination in recruitment and hiring. Based on the company’s placement of a job posting for the position that encouraged candidates with specific temporary work visas, the Charging Party believed the company had a preference favoring the hiring of temporary foreign workers.  While IER’s investigation did not establish that the company had engaged in discriminatory recruitment and hiring in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324b, it did identify deficiencies in the company’s recruitment practices that if left unaddressed could lead to such statutory violations.  IER’s dismissal was based on a number of commitments by the company during IER’s investigation that addressed those deficiencies, including a commitment to refrain from posting advertisements that mention specific citizenship status, unless there is a valid reason under 8 U.S.C. § 1324b. In addition, all company and contractor recruiters will attend an IER Employer webinar training. (Princeton, NJ)

On June 17, 2022, IER issued a letter of resolution (“LOR”) dismissing an independent investigation of potential citizenship status discrimination in hiring by an IT staffing company that had posted job advertisements referencing a specific visa status.  Although the investigation found insufficient evidence that the company engaged in citizenship status discrimination in violation of 8 USC § 1324b, the investigation identified deficiencies in the employer’s advertising and recruitment processes.  The letter of resolution acknowledged the company’s removal of the offending advertisements and memorialized the company’s commitment to comply with § 1324b, and have employees and contractors who recruit and post job advertisements attend an IER training.  (Madison, WI)

On June 24, 2022, IER issued a letter of resolution dismissing a charge alleging citizenship status discrimination in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324b against a manufacturing company after a recruiter for a position that did not provide sponsorship asked questions about an applicant’s immigration status. Although there was insufficient evidence to support a reasonable cause finding that the company engaged in citizenship status discrimination, the investigation identified deficiencies in the company’s recruitment policies and procedures that, if left unaddressed, could lead to violations of the INA’s anti-discriminatory provision.  The letter of resolution outlines the company’s unilateral commitment to have recruiters for similar positions attend a training on citizenship status discrimination. (Indiana)

On July 19, 2022, IER issued a letter of resolution (“LOR”) dismissing a charge filed by a U.S. citizen after her employer, a health and wellness facility, requested specific documents when completing the Form I-9.  Although IER’s investigation did not find reasonable cause to believe the employer violated 8 U.S.C. § 1324b, IER did identify a lack of knowledge by some individuals regarding the rules of the Form I-9, which, if left unaddressed could lead to a violation of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision. The LOR memorializes the employer’s unilateral commitment to have HR personnel, including all managers and employees who have any role in making employment eligibility verification decisions in their Henderson, Nevada location, participate in an IER webinar, and to review and have access to resources related to the Form I-9. (Henderson, NV)