On February 28, 2013, the Department of Justice announced that it has reached an agreement with The Agency Staffing (“Agency Staffing”), an employment agency based in West Dundee, Illinois, over allegations that the company improperly applied enhanced employment eligibility procedures to employment-authorized non-U.S. citizen employees when processing E-Verify queries. Accordingly to the DOJ, the company violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when it did not utilize these same measures to verify the employment eligibility of U.S. citizens processed in E-Verify. Under the settlement, Agency Staffing will pay $8,400 in civil penalties, undergo training on the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, and be subject to monitoring of future employment eligibility procedures for a period of three years.

On February 20, 2013, the DOJ announced that it has reached a settlement with FTD Inc. (FTD) to resolve allegations that the company retaliated against a prospective employee who argued that his conditional job offer was rescinded after a background investigation revealed a purported Social Security number error. When the individual asserted his rights under the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, the company terminated all communication with him. Under the terms of the agreement, FTD will pay $1,800 in back pay and $3,000 in civil penalties, as well as undergo training on the INA’s anti-discrimination provision.