Macy’s ordered to pay fine over asking additional paperwork of Greencard holder applicant

GLENDALE, Calif. (Diya TV) – After a green card holder who was asked for additional paperwork filed a lawsuit against Macy’s, the national retail giant has been ordered to pay a civil penalty and to provide additional training to its employees to be more mindful of the laws governing hiring policies in the U.S.

Macy’s settled with the Justice Department on charges of discrimination against a lawful permanent resident in the suit.

The agreement was reached Wednesday between the retailer and Justice after allegations were brought forward the company had violated the Immigration and Nationality Act by discriminating against work-authorized non-U.S. citizens at its Glendale, Calif. location. The investigation stemmed from a complaint filed by a U.S. citizen whose hiring was delayed in Oct. 2015, according to the Justice Department.

The allegations said, and the investigation found, that a woman who had applied for work would not be provided employment by Macy’s even though she showed sufficient proof of her work authorization because a Macy’s hiring official incorrectly believed that lawful permanent residents were required to produce unexpired permanent resident cards.

Additionally, the investigation also found that other human resources employees of the same Macy’s location were imposing similar and unnecessary requirements on four other lawful and permanent residents. Under the INA, lawful permanent residents do not have to show their permanent resident cards when they start working. Instead, like all workers, they can choose whichever documentation the would like to present, such as a driver’s license and unrestricted social security card, from the lists of acceptable documents.

According to the terms of the settlement agreement, Macy’s will, among other agreements, provide its employees with additional training to better understand the laws and will conduct assessments of the employees’ understanding afterwards. The company will also pay a civil penalty of $8,700 and periodically produce Form I-9 information to the department for review. Macy’s is also apparently looking into what is a good HR company for them to be able to stay within compliance and still offer employees the same benefits and also help their HR department streamline new hires within regulations.

“Macy’s did the right thing by immediately resolving the charging party’s delayed hiring and by giving her full back pay,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in a statement. “All employers should take care not to impose unlawful burdens on employees because of their citizenship or immigration status and address issues promptly when they make mistakes.”