JP Senior Healthcare and JP Senior Management will pay a fine, pay back pay and train employees under the terms of a settlement with the Department of Justice over a claim that the companies discriminated against a Latino employee based on assumptions that he was not a U.S. citizen.
JP Senior Management manages two nursing facilities in Iowa that are owned by JP Senior Healthcare.
According to the Justice Department, the companies discriminated against the potential employee while verifying his right to work in the United States. The individual presented a valid citizen’s driver’s license and Social Security card but was told he needed to show a permanent resident card, which is issued to noncitizens. The person is a U.S. citizen and, therefore, ineligible for the card. He subsequently was not hired.
The Immigration and Nationality Act’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from requesting “more or different documents than necessary” to prove work authorization based on someone’s citizenship status or national origin, according to the Justice Department. Instead, potential employees, regardless of citizenship status or national origin, may choose which valid, legally acceptable documents to present to demonstrate their ability to work in the United States, the department said.
Under the terms of the settlement, JP Senior Healthcare and JP Senior Management will pay a civil penalty to the federal government, pay the worker back pay plus interest, and train relevant employees about the INA’s anti-discrimination provision.
“Employers must treat all workers fairly and consistent with the law, without making assumptions about a worker’s citizenship based on appearance or Hispanic national origin,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a press release.
The companies did not respond to a request for comment from the McKnight’s Business Daily by the production deadline.
