WASHINGTON, May 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Department of Justice
today announced that iGate Mastech Inc. (iGate), a Pittsburgh computer
consulting company, has agreed to pay $45,000 in civil penalties to settle
allegations that iGate discriminated against United States citizens in its
employment practices. The settlement also requires iGate to train its
recruitment personnel and to post a nondiscrimination statement on its Web
site.
The settlement stems from the Department's finding that, between May 9,
2006, and June 4, 2006, iGate placed 30 job announcements for computer
programmers that expressly favored H-1B visa holders to the exclusion of
U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and other legal U.S. workers.
Such preference constituted citizenship status discrimination and is
prohibited by the Immigration and Nationality Act.
"We are committed to protecting the right of all authorized workers in
the United States against citizenship status discrimination," said Grace
Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Justice Department's
Civil Rights Division. "We are pleased to have reached the settlement with
iGate, and look forward to continuing to work with the business community
to educate the public about the protections and obligations under the
anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act."
The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment
Practices (OSC) in the Civil Rights Division, which conducted the
investigation in this matter, will continue to monitor iGate to ensure
compliance with the settlement agreement. OSC is responsible for enforcing
the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act
(INA), which protect U.S. citizens and certain work-authorized
individualsWorkauthind.htm from employment discrimination based upon
citizenship or immigration status. The INA also protects all
work-authorized individuals from national origin discrimination, unfair
documentary practices relating to the employment eligibility verification
process, and from retaliation.
For more information about protections against employment
discrimination under the immigration laws, call 1-800-255-7688 (OSC's
worker hotline) (1-800-237-2525, TDD for hearing impaired), 1-800-255-8255
(OSC's employer hotline) (1-800-362-2735, TDD for hearing impaired), or
202-616-5594. Email osccrt@usdoj.gov, or visit the Web site at
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/osc.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Justice
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Related links:
http://www.USDOJ.gov
CONTACT:
U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public
Affairs, +1-202-514-2007, TDD, +1-202-514-1888
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