IBM, Justice Department Settle Citizenship Status Discrimination Claim

(RTTNews) - The Justice Department announced on Friday that it has reached an agreement with International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) resolving allegations that the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act or INA when it placed online job postings for application and software developers that contained citizenship status preferences for F-1 and H-1B temporary visa holders.

Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, said, "Employers must give all eligible candidates the equal opportunity to compete for employment. The department is committed to ensuring employers do not unlawfully discriminate against U.S. citizens and other work-authorized individuals based on their citizenship status."

Under the INA, employers may not discriminate on the basis of citizenship status unless required to comply with law, regulation, executive order or government contract.

F-1 visas are issued to foreign students studying in the United States, and H-1B visas are issued to foreign nationals with technical expertise in specialized fields.

Under the settlement agreement, IBM has agreed to pay $44,400 in civil penalties to the U.S. The DoJ said that IBM further agreed to revise its hiring and recruiting procedures and train its human resources personnel to ensure compliance with the INA, and also to be subject to reporting requirements for a period of two years.

IBM closed the Friday's trading session at $186.92, down 1.73 percent or $3.30.