According to law, immigrants are persons lawfully
admitted for permanent residence in the U.S. They
arrive with permanent visas that have been applied
for and issued abroad, or they adjust their status
from temporary visitor to permanent resident.
Discrimination
based on immigration or citizenship status is treating
individuals differently in their employment because
of their citizenship or
immigration status.
Under the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA),
employers with four or more employees are prohibited
from discriminating on the basis of citizenship status,
which occurs when adverse employment decisions are
made based upon an individual's real or perceived
citizenship or immigration status.
Examples of citizenship status discrimination include
employers who hire only U.S. citizens, or U.S. citizens
and green card holders; employers who refuse to hire
those granted asylum in the U.S. or other refugees,
because their employment authorization documents contain
expiration dates; and employers who prefer to employ
unauthorized workers or temporary visa holders, rather
than U.S. citizens and other workers with employment
authorization.
Also, it is illegal for employers to recruit, hire,
or continue to employ illegal immigrants who are ineligible
to work in the United States. The IRCA was administered
and enforced by the Immigration and Naturalization
Service (INS), but is now handled by the new agency,
the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related
Unfair Employment Practices enforces the statute prohibiting
employment discrimination under IRCA. It has the responsibility
for handling complaints, against all employers, alleging
citizenship status discrimination, document abuse,
retaliation, and national origin discrimination, if
the employer has four to 14 employees. The Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission handles national origin discrimination
complaints against employers with 15 or more employees.
Penalties
Back pay (for lost wages), instatement or reinstatement,
etc., may be awarded to victims of unlawful discrimination.
Penalties for discrimination range between $275 and
$2,200 for each victim for the first offense, $2,200
to $5,500 for the second offense, and $3,300 to $11,000
for the third offense. Fines for document abuse range
from $110 to $1,100 for each victim.
U.S. citizens and work-authorized immigrants who
are victims of workplace discrimination based upon
immigration status, national origin discrimination,
or document abuse may file complaints with the Office
of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair
Employment Practices (OSC) at the U.S. Department
of Justice.
