Justice Department Secures Agreement with Georgia-Based Company for Posting Discriminatory Job Advertisements

The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement with American CyberSystems Inc., a Georgia-based company that provides IT services and staff recruiting nationwide under the name Innova Solutions (formerly ACS Solutions). The settlement resolves the department’s determination that the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when it recruited for two positions using advertisements that unlawfully excluded certain applicants based on their citizenship statuses.

“Employers cannot unlawfully discriminate against individuals based on their citizenship status when they advertise job opportunities, plain and simple,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This settlement makes clear our commitment to holding employers accountable when they run afoul of the law and discriminate on the basis of citizenship.”

The Civil Rights Division’s new fact sheet adds to the many other department resources available to help employers train their hiring and recruiting staff to avoid the types of discrimination that happened here.

The department’s investigation found that American CyberSystems discriminated against U.S. nationals, refugees and asylees by posting an advertisement recruiting only U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. The position advertised involved access to materials subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR). The ITAR and EAR require employers to seek special authorization from the U.S. government for certain workers if their job requires accessing export-controlled items. Under these regulations, however, U.S. nationals, asylees and refugees are on the same footing as U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, and employers do not need authorization to share export-controlled items with these workers. The department concluded that the company had no justification to exclude them from hiring.

The department also found that the company posted a second, unrelated job advertisement that discriminated against immigrant and U.S. citizen workers by specifically seeking workers with temporary work visas.

Under the settlement, American CyberSystems must train its recruiting and human resources staff on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, review its policies to ensure compliance with relevant law and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements. American CyberSystems also must pay a civil penalty as a result of the discriminatory ads.

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. As explained in a new fact sheet the department issued on April 18, employer obligations under this law do not change when complying with export-control laws and regulations. Another department fact sheet is aimed at helping employers avoid discrimination when recruiting using online job ads.

Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Find more information on how employers can avoid citizenship status discrimination on IER’s website. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify); or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public can also 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); email IER@usdoj.gov; sign up for a free webinar; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe for email updates from IER.