Settlements And Resolutions Reached By OSC In Discrimination Cases

IMMIGRANTS & EMPLOYMENT

IRCA Employment Verification and
Antidiscrimination Protections

SETTLEMENTS AND RESOLUTIONS REACHED BY OSC IN DISCRIMINATION CASES
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 18, No. 1, February 17, 2004

Employment discrimination cases in which the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) has obtained settlements and informal resolutions since last September have included a couple employer "document abuse" cases, a case in which an airline's policy was to recruit only U.S. citizens for flight attendant positions, and a case in which a naturalized U.S. citizen was fired on suspicion of not being work-authorized, despite having presented valid evidence that she was employment-eligible. The OSC is part of the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Dept. of Justice.

Carlos A. Leal v. Triangle Services, Inc. On Sept. 17, 2003, the OSC entered into a settlement agreement with Triangle Services Inc. of Orlando, Florida, to resolve a charge alleging that it fired an asylee in violation of the document abuse provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. When the employment authorization document that the asylee had presented upon first completing the I-9 employment eligibility verification process expired and Triangle was requiring the asylee to reverify his employment eligibility, the company refused to accept the other acceptable documents he presented. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Triangle agreed to pay a civil penalty of $1,100 for a single act of document abuse, $13,802 in back pay and interest, $599 for incurred medical expenses, and also the amount the asylee would have been paid for accrued paid days off. The company also agreed to post antidiscrimination notices and to train its employees regarding the antidiscrimination provision of the INA.

Mata v. Masonite Holdings Inc. The charging party in a second document abuse case was a Mexican national and lawful permanent resident whom Masonite Holdings Inc. denied employment on the ground that he was not work-authorized, despite the fact that he provided two documents legally acceptable for demonstrating his employment eligibility. The company had been accepting comparable documents from native-born U.S. citizens when verifying their employment eligibility. The OSC found reasonable cause to believe that the charging party, a Mr. Mata, had been the victim of document abuse on the basis of his citizenship status. The OSC successfully resolved the charge without filing a complaint. In an Oct. 22, 2003, settlement agreement, Masonite agreed to provide Mata $4,476 in back pay and all benefits considered back pay (sick leave, annual leave, fringe benefits, and insurance coverage) that he would have earned had he been hired. Masonite also offered Mata the job for which he had originally applied. Furthermore, Masonite agreed to pay $500 in civil penalties, post antidiscrimination educational notices in the workplace, and have its managers trained in the I-9 employment eligibility verification process.

Omni Air International. On Oct. 17, 2003, the OSC closed its independent investigation of and issued a letter of resolution to Omni Air International in Tulsa, Oklahoma, after receiving a letter from the airline stating that it had removed from flight attendant recruiting announcements a notice that the positions were open only to U.S. citizens and that it had instructed its recruiters that no "U.S. citizen-only" requirement applied to flight attendants. Omni operates passenger aircraft for major tour operators and the U.S. Dept. of Defense, but Omni's contract with the latter requires only that cockpit crew members be U.S. citizens. Because no economic victims of the rescinded policy could be identified, and because Omni corrected its practice so quickly, no formal settlement was entered.

Rubi v. The Republican Nat'l Capitol Hill Club. On Nov. 18, 2003, the OSC issued a letter of resolution dismissing the charge of Maria J. Rubi, a naturalized U.S. citizen, who alleged that the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C., terminated her employment despite the fact that she provided documentation demonstrating her work authorization. In response to the investigation, the employer voluntarily entered into a bilateral settlement agreement with Rubi in which it agreed to pay her $10,000 in back pay. The OSC issued the letter of resolution after ascertaining that the settlement fully resolved Rubi's claims, and it also conducted a training on the I-9 employment eligibility verification process for the employer's supervisors and managers.

For more information about the OSC's work, including reports about recent case resolutions, visit its website at www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc/. To report cases of discrimination, workers and advocates can call the OSC toll free at 1-800-255-7688 (the TDD number for the hearing-impaired is 1-800-237-2515). Employers can obtain more information on immigration-related unfair employment practices by calling the OSC toll free at 1-800-255-8155 (the TDD number for the hearing impaired is 1-800-362-2735).