Lawful Permanent Residents are U.S. Workers

An announcement this week from the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division (DOJ) is a good reminder that lawful permanent residents of the United States (green card holders) are U.S. workers entitled to protection against employment discrimination like workers born in the United States.  Lawful permanent residents are allowed to live in the United States indefinitely and hold unrestricted work authorization.  Lawful permanent residents can apply for U.S. citizenship by naturalization after being a permanent resident for 5 years (or 3 years if their permanent resident status is based on their marriage to a U.S. citizen). DOJ announced settlement of a claim against a California company that was accused of refusing to hire a qualified lawful permanent resident because he was not a U.S. citizen or a native English speaker.  Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas E. Perez explains that "Federal law protects authorized workers from discrimination based on unlawful citizenship requirements."  Employers are not allowed to go beyond the employment verification requirements of the I-9 process to impose additional citizenship or employment eligibility documentation requirements on employees or prospective hires.  For example, last year DOJ brought an enforcement action against a community college system in Arizona that used an internal form to request additional documentation from new hires who were not U.S. citizens, to further explore their immigration status for tax withholding and payroll purposes.  This is a compliance area that can be confusing for employers.  U.S. employers are required by law to verify that new hires are eligible for employment, but they are not allowed to impose additional requirements for citizenship or immigration status other than those mandated by law.  Employers are not required to offer sponsorship for non-U.S. workers to obtain employment authorization, but they are not allowed to discriminate based on national origin or citizenship status in hiring, firing or recruitment.  The intersection of these laws certainly keeps things interesting.