WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has reached a settlement with TekisHub Consulting Services, LLC, a Delaware-based IT staffing and recruitment company, over allegations that it unlawfully restricted job opportunities to individuals holding H-1B visas, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
According to the DOJ, TekisHub limited recruitment for certain positions to non-citizen workers on H-1B visas, excluding qualified U.S. citizens and other workers with legal work authorization. The Department alleged this practice constituted unlawful discrimination based on citizenship status.
Under the settlement agreement, TekisHub will:
- Pay $200,000 in civil penalties to the United States
- Revise its employment and recruiting policies
- Undergo training on INA compliance
- Refrain from imposing citizenship-based job restrictions unless legally justified
This is the third settlement reached under the DOJ’s re-launched Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, aimed at enforcing anti-discrimination provisions of the INA and ensuring equal access to job opportunities for U.S. workers.
“Recruitment companies cannot place unlawful restrictions based on citizenship status,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division. “U.S. workers are highly-skilled and deserve equal access to all American jobs.”
Workers and employers seeking more information or assistance may contact the DOJ’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section at 1-800-255-7688 (workers) or 1-800-255-8155 (employers), or visit www.justice.gov/ier.
