Staffing Industry Insurance: Hiring Non-Citizens
Last Friday, the Justice Department reached an agreement with Real Time Staffing Services LLC, doing business as Select Staffing, a staffing agency company based in Santa Barbara, California over their employment verification practices. The settlement resolves the department’s claims that Select Staffing discriminated against non-U.S. citizens with proper work authorization which was in direct violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). As a result, the staffing firm is subject to settlement fees, fines and additional monitoring of their business practices.
The department’s investigation was originally initiated based on a referral from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The findings concluded that some of the company’s staffing professionals had been requiring non-U.S. citizens to present specific documents during the employment eligibility verification process to establish their work authority without doing so for U.S. citizens. The INA anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from doing just that. Employers, including staffing agencies, are prohibited from requiring additional documentation for work-eligible non-citizens during the employment eligibility verification process based on their citizenship status or national origin.
Familiarity and full compliance with employment practice laws are particularly important to staffing firms, as one of their primary functions is to provide employment services to their clients. As proven through this case, infractions can be costly and negatively impact a company’s performance and reputation. When working with non-citizens it can be particularly difficult to navigate the various regulations involved with placing eligible individuals, especially when clients’ wishes could contradict the law. Some clients might attempt to specify extra certification or skill assessments for a specific set of workers, however in order to avoid any unwanted complications, staffing professionals may not want to comply with these requests. Ensuring that all prospective employees are subject to the same employment eligibility verification and selection process is the best way to avoid these types of mishaps.
At World Wide Specialty Programs, we understand that the staffing and employment industry faces a variety of unique risk exposure and factors. That’s why we offer the best staffing industry instance solutions in the industry. Whether your clients are simply seeking the best Employment Practices Liability coverage or complete staffing insurance coverage, we can help secure solutions to fit their needs. Give our Staffing Industry Insurance specialists a call today at (877) 256-0468 to learn more about all of our offerings.