The Justice Department announced today that it secured a settlement agreement with BreakthroughFuel LLC (Breakthrough), a transportation management company based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, with nationwide operations. The agreement resolves the department’s determination that Breakthrough violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by discriminating against a non-U.S. citizen worker when the company withdrew its offer to work on a project based on his citizenship status.

“Employers cannot unlawfully exclude people with permission to work in the United States because of their citizenship status,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The department is committed to ensuring that employers do not unlawfully deny workers equal treatment in the workplace.”

After opening an investigation based on a worker’s complaint, the Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) concluded that Breakthrough, which used a third-party staffing agency to fill a role on Breakthrough’s project, asked the agency to withdraw a job offer to a worker when Breakthrough learned he was not a U.S. citizen. IER also concluded that Breakthrough did not have any legal justification for withdrawing the offer.  

Under the terms of the settlement, Breakthrough will pay a civil penalty to the United States, train its employees on the INA’s anti-discrimination requirements, revise its employment policies and processes and be subject to monitoring by the department. During the course of IER’s investigation, Breakthrough and the staffing agency provided the worker with monetary compensation to address his claim of lost wages.

IER is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, 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. 

Find more information on how employers can avoid discrimination in recruiting and hiring on IER’s website. Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. 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); sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Sign up for email updates from IER.