Originally published September 18 2015
Damned if you do: Obama Administration punishes company for checking citizenship status as required by law
by J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) It is against federal law for an American firm to knowingly hire a worker who is in the country illegally. In President Obama's world, however, it is now against the rules to ensure that workers you hire are here legally.
Under Title 8 U.S.C., "In general it is unlawful for a person or other entity to hire, or to recruit or refer for a fee, for employment in the United States an alien knowing the alien is an unauthorized alien (as defined in subsection (h)(3) of this section) with respect to such employment..."
Because of Obama's drive to "remake the country" into another, less traditional image of itself, companies that dare to ensure they are hiring legal workers are going to find themselves under attack by the Justice Department.
As reported by the Washington Free Beacon, the DoJ accused a Nebraska firm of discrimination after the company forced prospective employees to show proof of citizenship.
Follow the law, get fined
In a press release, the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (yes, the DoJ really does have such an office) forced Nebraska Beef Ltd., a meat-packing company, to settle a claim of discrimination because it "required non-U.S. citizens, but not similarly-situated U.S. citizens, to present specific documentary proof of their immigration status to verify their employment eligibility."
After being pressured by federal prosecutors, the company agreed to a $200,000 settlement in a civil penalty and said it would establish an uncapped back pay fund for anyone who lost wages because they were unable to prove their were in the country legally.
Yes, Americans: the inmates are now running the asylum.
The Washington Free Beacon added:
The settlement also requires the business to undergo compliance monitoring for two years, train employees on the anti-discrimination provision within the Immigration and Nationality Act, and to revise policies within its office.
Not only did the company have to pay hundreds of thousands in penalties, but now it must also submit to continual government "monitoring" by the Politburo...er, the federal government.
"The department is committed to ensuring that individuals who are authorized to work in the United States can support their families and contribute to our country's economic growth without facing unnecessary and discriminatory barriers to employment," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division, according to the DoJ press release. "We will vigorously enforce the law to remove such barriers where we find them, and ensure that affected individuals have a means of seeking relief."
Government extortion
Unless, of course, you happen to be an American citizen or a U.S. company trying to comply with a vague law that allows bureaucrats to interpret it however they please and always in a way that penalizes we the people - and in this case, the "lawful" people.
According to legal watchdog Judicial Watch, the Obama administration is being deferential to law-breaking illegal aliens over the interests of American workers and companies that are just trying to do the right thing:
You know the nation is in trouble when a U.S. business gets investigated by its own government for following the law.
Further, Judicial Watch noted:
This case is part of a broader effort by the Obama administration to helps illegal aliens in the U.S. Besides shielding tens of millions from deportation via an executive amnesty order, the president has also expanded the DOJ to help carry out part of this mission. It's why the agency's civil rights division has grown immensely under Obama. A few years ago Judicial Watch reported that the DOJ's civil rights division launched a secret group to monitor laws passed by states and local municipalities to control illegal immigration. Because the measures are viewed as discriminatory and anti-immigrant by the administration, the DOJ has spent huge sums of taxpayer dollars to track them and legally challenge them as it did in Arizona.
Anyone who has filled out a job application in the modern era – especially when seeking federal employment or employment with a private contractor doing business with the federal government – knows that you are required to attest that you are in the country legally or divulge your status if you are not.
Apparently, the Obama "Justice" Department now thinks that is discriminatory and is prepared to extort businesses that are simply trying to follow the law.
Sources include:
Law.Cornell.edu
Justice.gov
FreeBeacon.com
JudicialWatch.org
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