CFA Institute, Discriminating Against U.S. Workers, Virginia 2022
CFA Institute, a Charlottesville, Virginia-based association of investment professionals, has agreed to settle claims with the Justice Department for discriminating against U.S. workers.
Charlottesville, VA - November 1, 2022
The Justice Department today announced that it has reached a settlement agreement with CFA Institute, an international association of investment professionals, headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia. CFA Institute offers a global certification for Chartered Financial Analysts who pass an exam that is administered annually.
The settlement resolves the Department’s investigation into whether CFA Institute violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by preferring to hire H-1B visa holders over U.S. workers when it selected CFA Institute exam graders from its members.
From at least November 2016 through January 2018, CFA Institute set aside annual exam-grading positions for its members who required or had H-1B visas or other high-skill temporary visas, based on their citizenship status. The Department also concluded that, in doing so, CFA Institute failed to consider equally qualified U.S. workers for such positions.
The INA prohibits employers from discriminating in the hiring process based on a worker’s citizenship status or national origin. Refusing to hire U.S. citizens, or setting aside positions for visa holders, because of their citizenship status violates the INA.
CFA Institute will pay $321,000 in civil penalties to the United States, train employees on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements.
This is the fifth settlement under the Civil Rights Division’s Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, which is aimed at targeting, investigating, and taking enforcement actions against companies that discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of temporary visa workers.
Under the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, the Civil Rights Division has opened dozens of investigations, filed one lawsuit, and reached settlement agreements with five employers. Since the Initiative’s inception, employers have agreed to pay or have distributed over $320,000 in back pay to affected U.S. workers.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →