Louisiana Crane & Construction LLC, which provides oilfield services, has agreed to pay $165,000 in civil penalties and create a $50,000 fund to pay workers who lost wages because of the company’s policy requiring workers who were not U.S. citizens to provide additional documents during the Form I-9 employment verification process. The company will also be required to conduct anti-discrimination training and be subject to monitoring for two year.
The Immigration and Nationality Act’s (INA) anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from requiring additional documents from workers during the employment eligibility verification process based on their citizenship status
This case is serves as evidence that the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is continuing to ramp up its activities thanks in part to a 2010 agreement requiring the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to refer discrimination matters to the OSC, along with any relevant information from the E-Verify system. As such, employers should be very careful to properly follow the employment verification regulations regarding proper completion of a Form I-9 and use of the E-Verify system.
The case is U.S. v. Louisiana Crane Co. LLC, case number 14B00102, before the U.S. Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review, Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer.