The US Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against Smithfield Foods’ Farmland Foods for allegedly discriminating against non-US citizens in its recruitment process.
The lawsuit, filed yesterday (27 June), alleges that the major pork producer “imposed unnecessary documentary requirements on non-US citizens when establishing their authority to work in the US”.
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The department’s investigation found that Farmland required all newly hired non-US citizens and some foreign-born US citizens at its Monmouth plant in Illinois to present specific and, in some cases, extra work authorisation documents beyond those required by federal law.
“Employers may not treat authorised workers differently during the hiring process based on their citizenship status,” said Thomas Perez, assistant attorney general for the department’s civil rights division. “Federal law prohibits discrimination in the employment eligibility verification process, and the Justice Department is committed to enforcing the law.”
The civil lawsuit against the pork product producer was filed before the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearing Officer within the Executive Office for Immigration Review.
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