Justice Department Secures Agreement with Information Technology Staffing Company to Resolve Hiring Discrimination Claims

The Justice Department announced today that it has secured a settlement agreement with Frank Recruitment Group Incorporated (FRG), an information technology staffing company that does business under eight brand names (Revolent Group, Nigel Frank International, Mason Frank International, Washington Frank International, Anderson Frank International, Nelson Frank International, Jefferson Frank International and FRG Technology Consulting) at locations throughout the United States. The agreement resolves the department’s determination that FRG violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) by excluding or deterring certain non-U.S. citizens with permission to work in the United States from applying to job opportunities because of their citizenship status.

“Employers cannot unlawfully discriminate against individuals granted asylum or refugee status in hiring,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The department will continue to hold employers accountable for imposing barriers to employment based on citizenship status, in violation of our nation’s civil rights laws.”

The department’s investigation determined that FRG published several online job advertisements with language that restricted eligibility to U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, even though FRG had no lawful basis to do so. FRG’s restrictive job ads excluded and deterred other potentially qualified individuals, including individuals granted asylum or refugee status by the federal government, based on their citizenship or immigration status. Under the INA, employers cannot discriminate in hiring based on citizenship or immigration status unless a law, regulation, executive order or government contract requires such discrimination.

Under the terms of the settlement, FRG will pay $100,000 in civil penalties to the United States, train its employees on the INA’s anti-discrimination requirements, revise its employment policies and be subject to monitoring by the department.

The Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. Among other things, the statute generally 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 about how employers can avoid discrimination in hiring and recruiting 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); email IER@usdoj.gov; sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Subscribe for email updates from IER.