On February 8, the DOJ announced that it had reached an agreement with Avant Healthcare Professionals LLC (“Avant”), a health care staffing company based in Florida, to resolve allegations that the company had posted hundreds of Internet-based job openings that impermissibly favored foreign-trained workers seeking permanent residence or H-1B visa sponsorship over U.S. employees. Under the terms of the settlement, Avant will pay $27,750 in civil penalties, amend its internal policies and written procedures to comply with the INA’s anti-discrimination provisions, and be subject to a reporting and compliance monitoring requirement for a period of three (3) years.

According to press releases issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the agency has reached three major settlements in 2013 over alleged violations of the Immigration and Nationality Act’s (INA) anti-discrimination provisions, an area enforced by the agency’s Office of Special Counsel (OSC). The INA prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of citizenship or immigration status unless required to do so by law, regulation or government contract.