Non-Americans were hired only if they had a Green Card.
AB Wire
NEW YORK: Abercrombie & Fitch Inc., who have become the symbol of an American retailer discriminating against minorities after they lost a case against employees wearing veil to work, got another reprimand to its disturbing work policies after it was discovered that they hired non-Americans only if they had a Green Card.
The Justice Department reached an agreement with Abercrombie & Fitch Inc., the clothing retailer headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.
The agreement resolves a complaint filed with the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), claiming that the company discriminated against a non-U.S. citizen in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
The department’s investigation found that Abercrombie required a non-U.S. citizen, but not similarly-situated U.S. citizens, to produce specific documentary proof of her immigration status for the purpose of verifying her employment eligibility. Specifically, the Department found that Abercrombie required the individual to present a green card. The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from making specific documentary demands based on citizenship status or national origin when verifying an employee’s employment eligibility.
Under the settlement agreement, Abercrombie will pay $3,661.14 in back pay to the complainant and a civil penalty to the United States; establish a back pay fund of $153, 932.00 to compensate other individuals who may have been harmed; and be subject to monitoring of its employment eligibility verification practices for two years.
“The division is committed to identifying and tearing down illegal barriers that prevent authorized workers from working,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division.