Justice Department Secures Agreement with Staffing Services Company to Resolve Immigration-Related Employment Discrimination Claim

The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement with FM Talent Source LLC, a Maryland-based staffing services company. The settlement resolves the department’s determination that FM Talent violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when the company rescinded a job offer from a non-U.S. citizen and delayed his eventual hiring due to unfounded suspicions based on his citizenship status.

“Employers cannot make hiring decisions based solely on assumptions or stereotypes about an applicant’s citizenship status,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Civil Rights Division will vigorously enforce the Immigration and Nationality Act’s nondiscrimination mandate to ensure that all job applicants are treated fairly.”

The department’s investigation began when a lawful permanent resident complained that FM Talent rescinded his job offer for a contract position with the federal government because of his citizenship status. The department found that, although the federal contract did not prohibit FM Talent from hiring a lawful permanent resident for the position, FM Talent rescinded the applicant’s offer due to unfounded suspicions that his status as a non-U.S. citizen, he would delay the hiring process. FM Talent renewed the worker’s job offer after the department opened its investigation, but the company’s discriminatory actions delayed the worker’s start date. Under the INA, employers cannot unlawfully discriminate based on citizenship, immigration status or national origin at any stage of the hiring process.

Under the terms of the settlement, FM Talent will pay a civil penalty to the United States and back pay to the affected worker. FM Talent will also train its staff on the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, revise its policies and procedures and be subject to departmental monitoring for a three-year period. 

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; and retaliation and intimidation. 

Find more information on how employers can avoid discrimination when hiring and recruiting on IER’s website. Learn more about how IER protects workers’ rights in this video. For more information about protections against employment discrimination under immigration laws, call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Sign up for email updates from IER.