Justice Department prosecutors, acting in conjunction with the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, have filed a lawsuit against a medical services provider with skilled nursing facilities throughout California. The Government alleges in the September 30, 2011, complaint that the company engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination by imposing unnecessary documentary requirements on naturalized U.S. citizens and work-authorized foreign-born workers. The Immigration and Nationality Act’s anti-discrimination provisions prohibit employers from exceeding the verification requirements for work-authorized employees during the process of hiring based upon an applicant’s or employee’s citizenship status or national origin.
