On January 7, 2013, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that Centerplate, Inc. (an international hospitality company) had agreed to pay a $250,000 civil penalty to resolve allegations that it violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Specifically, the DOJ alleged that Centerplate engaged in a pattern or practice of treating work-eligible non-citizens differently from U.S. citizens in the employment eligibility verification process by requesting that non-U.S. citizens show specific documents to demonstrate work eligibility. In addition to the civil penalty, Centerplate also agreed to fully compensate any victims for lost wages. This is reported to be the third largest settlement to resolve alleged violations of the INA’s anti-discrimination provisions, which have been in effect since 1986. Employers should always permit employees completing the Form I-9 (whether initially or as part of an update or rehire) to select and show any acceptable document, or combination of documents, to demonstrate their identity and work eligibility. Because the list of acceptable documents can change, it is important to ensure that the form being used is always the most current edition.
Read more
