
WASHINGTON β The Justice Department announced that it has secured a settlement agreement with Maryland-based Treacy Enterprises Inc., which owns and operates several Dominoβs Pizza franchises (Treacy Enterprises). The settlement resolves the departmentβs determination that Treacy Enterprises violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by requiring a non-U.S citizen worker to provide more documents than necessary to prove his permission to work, even though he had already shown sufficient documentation.
βWhile employers must verify every new hireβs permission to work in the United States, they canβt require unnecessary documents or discriminate based on someoneβs citizenship status or national origin in the process,β said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Departmentβs Civil Rights Division. βThe Civil Rights Division will continue to fight to remove discriminatory barriers to employment.β
The departmentβs investigation began when a lawful permanent resident worker complained that Treacy Enterprises was requiring him to provide additional and unnecessary documentation to prove his permission to work instead of accepting the valid documentation he had already presented. The department determined that Treacy Enterprises discriminated against the worker by (1) demanding additional documentation to prove he could work rather than accepting the valid documents the worker had already provided and (2) requiring that the worker prove his citizenship status by showing a Permanent Resident Card (also known as a green card). Federal law allows workers to choose which valid, legally acceptable documentation to present to demonstrate their identity and permission to work, regardless of citizenship, immigration status or national origin. Employers cannot demand more documents than necessary or specific documentation as part of this process.
Under the settlement, Treacy Enterprises will pay a civil penalty to the United States. The agreement also requires the company to train its human resources staff on the INAβs requirements, revise its employment policies, and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements.
The Civil Rights Divisionβs Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation and intimidation.