Tweet
The Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a settlement with Chancery Staffing Solutions LLC (Chancery Staffing), a legal staffing company headquartered in New York, also known as TransPerfect Staffing Solutions to resolve claims that the staffing company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
In May 2019, the IER/DOJ filed a lawsuit against Chancery Staffing alleging that from April 4, 2017 to July 7, 2017, the company, operating as TransPerfect Staffing, restricted its recruitment and hiring of attorneys for a document review project for Clifford Chance law firm to U.S. citizens only, and later, to U.S. citizens without dual citizenship, based on a law firm’s directive. See http://discuss.ilw.com/blogs/bbuchan...-discriminated.
In a prior investigation of Clifford Chance, the IER found the firm’s request was based on a misunderstanding of the requirements of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and fined $132,000. See http://discuss.ilw.com/blogs/bbuchan...mination-claim. Had Chancery Staffing independently assessed the basis for the Clifford Chance’s directive, this instance of citizenship status discrimination may have been avoided.
Pursuant to the settlement agreement, Chancery Staffing will pay a civil penalty of $27,000; provide back pay to victims who are identified during the term of the settlement agreement; revise employment policies related to immigration compliance; train relevant employees about the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, through attendance at an IER webinar; obtain a certification and supporting documentation from clients that request a citizenship status restriction when staffing a project to help ensure that any such restriction is lawful; and submit to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements for 2 years.
If you want to know more about issues of citizenship status discrimination and employer immigration compliance, I recommend you read The I-9 and E-Verify Handbook, a book I co-authored with Greg Siskind, and available at http://www.amazon.com/dp/0997083379.
