Best Packing Services Employment Agency Inc. of Philadelphia will initiate internal reforms and award back wages of $4,379 to two persons whose employment was delayed by the company's misuse of the I-9 employment verification process, following a settlement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and its Office of Special Counsel (OSC), which enforces immigration policies.
The settlement involves two refugees who applied at Best Packing Services and were asked to supply Department of Homeland Security (DHS) work authorization cards after they had already furnished Social Security cards and unexpired state identification cards, which together are sufficient proof of work eligibility under standards of the Form I-9 verification process. U.S. applicants at Best Packing, an investigation revealed, were never asked to supply any additional documentation.
Because of this unwarranted request, the two refugees lost several weeks' wages, and as a result the company was subsequently charged with discrimination under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The DOJ-brokered settlement restores the pair's wages and forces Best Packing Services into internal reforms of the work authorization process.
“The Civil Rights Division is pleased that Best Packing has prioritized compliance with the Immigration and Nationality Act,” said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the DOJ's Civil Rights Division. “We encourage all employers to evaluate their policies and practices to ensure compliance with the INA’s anti-discrimination provision.”
The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, which protects work-authorized individuals from employment discrimination on the basis of citizenship status or national origin discrimination, including discrimination in hiring and the employment eligibility verification process.
To better understand the I-9 employment verification process and the types of documents acceptable to prove one's right to work in the United States, Personnel Concepts has prepared a handy and easy-to-follow I-9 Compliance Kit. Get yours today.