The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) reached a historic settlement on Monday regarding a claim against a Louisiana-based realty company that was accused of discriminating against Americans by hiring foreign H-2B workers.

Realty Company Rejected U.S. Workers

The DOJ found that Barrios Street Realty Inc., based in Lockport, Louisiana, unfairly rejected American applicants for sheet metal roofing and laborer jobs in order to hire foreign nationals through the H-2B work visa program.

DOJ Settlement Terms

Under the settlement, the company agreed to compensate the U.S. applicants it discriminated against and pay $30,000 in civil penalties. Barrios also agreed to a three-year ban on participating in the temporary work visa program that it used to solicit foreign workers as a condition to settle the claim.

"Federal law prohibits employers from discriminating against U.S. workers in hiring," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, the head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, in a statement. "The department is committed to identifying and combating discriminatory hiring preferences that impede the ability of U.S. workers to compete equally for employment."

DOJ Investigation

After launching an investigation in December 2014, the department determined that the company either failed to consider or rejected 73 American workers who applied for sheet metal roofing and laborer positions. The realty company then applied for H-2B workers to fill these positions.

In addition, the department concluded that Barrios falsely claimed it was unable to attract and hire qualified U.S. citizens to fill the positions. This was due to the company's "hiring preference for temporary foreign workers under the H-2B visa program." The H-2B visa program grants U.S. employers the right to hire foreign nationals to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs.

According to the DOJ, the company and its agent Jorge Arturo Guerrero Rodriguez "engaged in a pattern or practice of citizenship status discrimination in hiring against U.S. citizens."

The settlement also states that "Barrios Street Realty agrees that its actions would constitute valid grounds for debarment ... and meet the criteria as a willful and substantial violation and that Barrios waives the applicability of the debarment process under the regulations."

The government will contact U.S. applicants who were passed over for jobs at the company from July to December 2014 and sent a form that will help determine who is qualified to for compensation that will be paid for through a $115,000 back pay fund, according to the terms in the settlement. Those who qualify will either receive the entire backpay they are owed or a prorated portion of it, if the claims exceed $115,000, states the settlement.

Related