The DOJ reached a settlement agreement with Restwend LLC, the corporate owner of several Wendy’s restaurants in Maine.  The investigation alleged that at least one of its restaurants engaged in employment discrimination by refusing to hire individuals believed to be non-U.S. citizens even though they had legal work authorization.

Based on the DOJ’s findings, since at least 2009 this particular Wendy’s instituted a policy of refusing to hire work authorized individuals whom it believed to be non-U.S. citizens.  However, the Immigration and Nationality Act prohibits discrimination in hiring against authorized workers on the basis of citizenship status.

Restwend has agreed to pay $14,500 in back pay, plus interest, to a victim of its citizens-only policy, plus $3,200 in civil penalties.

 Generally, the Civil Rights Division’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, which protects work authorized individuals against discrimination in hiring, firing and recruitment or referral for a fee on the basis of citizenship status and national origin. The INA also protects all work-authorized individuals from discrimination in the employment.