Iflowsoft LLC, Citizenship Status Discrimination, New Jersey 2023

WASHINGTON – In a shocking case of workplace discrimination, Iflowsoft LLC, a computer programming services provider in Iselin, N.J., has agreed to pay $6,400 in civil penalties and $7,158.49 in back pay to two U.S. citizens who were qualified for the positions advertised and applied, or would have applied for the positions.

According to the findings, Iflowsoft posted several job advertisements for IT professionals expressing a preference for temporary visa holders (specifically H-1B transfers and/or OPT candidates). The facially discriminatory advertisements deterred the charging party, a U.S. citizen, from applying to Iflowsoft. In addition, the department found Iflowsoft hired an H1-B visa holder without considering a qualified U.S. citizen applicant.

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) generally prohibits employers from discriminating based on citizenship status during the hiring process.

Under the terms of the settlement, Iflowsoft has agreed to provide its employees training on the INA anti-discrimination requirements, adopt nondiscrimination policies with respect to recruitment and hiring, and maintain and submit records to the United States for the three-year term of the agreement.

“All workers who are authorized to work in the United States, whether they are citizens or not, have the right to look for a job without facing discrimination,” said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.

The Civil Rights Division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the INA anti-discrimination provision, which prohibits employers from discriminating against work-authorized individuals on the basis of citizenship status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or referral for a fee.

For more information about protections against employment discrimination under federal immigration law, call OSC’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2525, TDD for hearing impaired), OSC’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-362-2735, TDD for hearing impaired), or 202-616-5594; email osccrt@usdoj.gov; or visit the website at www.justice/gov/crt/osc.

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