Thread: PANDA EXPRESS GETS MASSIVE FINE FOR VERIFYING FOREIGN WORKERS

POPULAR RESTAURANT GETS MASSIVE FINE FOR VERIFYING FOREIGN WORKERS

Panda Express 'too careful' in quest to hire only legal residents

Published: 2 hours ago. Updated: 06/28/2017 at 9:11 PM
LEO HOHMANN

Panda Express has been fined $400,000 by the U.S. Department of Justice for ‘reverifying’ the documentation of non-citizen employees. This is ‘discriminatory,’ according to the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday it reached a settlement agreement with Panda Restaurant Group Inc., a chain of more than 1,800 Chinese-cuisine restaurants the DOJ accuses of discriminating against non-U.S. citizens in its hiring practices.

The deal resolves the department’s investigation into whether Panda Express discriminated against non-U.S. citizens in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, or INA, when verifying employees’ permission to work, according to a DOJ press release.

According to the DOJ investigation, Panda Express “unnecessarily required lawful permanent resident workers to re-establish their work authorization” when their green cards expired, “while not making similar requests to U.S. citizen workers when their documents expired.”

It was not clear from the press release what “documents” a U.S. citizen would have that could expire and need to be re-verified. WND called and emailed the DOJ press office Wednesday and did not get a return call.

The investigation also concluded that Panda Express “routinely required other non-U.S. citizen workers to produce immigration documents to reverify their ongoing work authorization despite evidence they had already provided sufficient documentation.”

The anti-discrimination provision of the INA prohibits such requests for documents when based on an employee’s citizenship status or national origin, according to the DOJ release.

Under the settlement, Panda Express will pay a civil penalty of $400,000 to the United States, establish a $200,000 back-pay fund to compensate workers who lost wages due to the company’s practices, train its human resources personnel on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision, and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements.

“Employers should ensure that their reverification practices comply with laws that protect workers against discrimination,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Tom Wheeler of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division.

Essentially, Panda Express was being “too careful” in its quest to make sure it did not employ illegal aliens, said Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies for the Center for Immigration Studies

Just as the Obama Justice Department went after municipalities that rejected mosque projects, it similarly threatened and bullied employers who were insistent upon making sure they did not hire illegals.

“Yes, believe it or not, that’s exactly what was happening,” Vaughan told WND. “It’s important to combat discriminatory practices, but the Obama administration used this office to intimidate employers and to try to scare them off asking too many questions of workers that might lead to discovery of illegal unauthorized workers trying to thwart the screening process.”

Vaughn said it was the Obama administration’s “idea of worksite enforcement – going after employers trying to do the right thing, instead of employers who routinely and flagrantly were hiring illegal workers.”

“I expect that going forward, the Trump administration will restore this office to its useful purpose of protecting Americans as well as legal immigrants from discriminatory hiring practices,” she said.

“That should be the top priority of this office.”

Work-authorized, non-U.S. citizens who lost work at Panda Express between May 31, 2014, and June 28, 2017, due to Panda Express’ documentary practices may be eligible for back pay for the wages they would have earned. For more information, the DOJ asks workers to email IER.PEclaims@usdoj.gov.

The division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER), formerly known as the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits, among other things, citizenship, immigration status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation; and intimidation.

http://www.wnd.com/2017/06/popular-r...reign-workers/

According to the DOJ investigation, Panda Express “unnecessarily required lawful permanent resident workers to re-establish their work authorization” when their green cards expired, “while not making similar requests to U.S. citizen workers when their documents expired.”

It was not clear from the press release what “documents” a U.S. citizen would have that could expire and need to be re-verified. WND called and emailed the DOJ press office Wednesday and did not get a return call.

Yeah, what documents would a U.S. citizen require? To work at Panda Express I would think all that would be required is a social security card.

They wanted to be careful to hire legally and they get this huge fine as their reward. Those who hire illegal aliens skate by in general.

Seems like a caution or warning would have sufficed If even necessary. Wonder why Attorney General Sessions didn't intervene.

This is unbelievable. GRRR!!! You did good Panda Express, and I'm very sorry you were punished for it. You should appeal. Probably a bunch of left-over Obamites handled the case.

Originally Posted by GeorgiaPeach

They wanted to be careful to hire legally and they get this huge fine as their reward. Those who hire illegal aliens skate by in general.

Seems like a caution or warning would have sufficed If even necessary. Wonder why Attorney General Sessions didn't intervene.

He may not have been aware of it, so many cases.

The division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER), formerly known as the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices, is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits, among other things, citizenship, immigration status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing, or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; retaliation; and intimidation.

Yes, obama's doing - and we were and still are waiting for mandated E-Verify. No papers, no right to work!

Documentation Required to Work in the United States

Employees must produce proof of identity and work authorization within a few days of starting a new job.

By Lisa Guerin, J.D.

Under the federal Immigration Reform and Control Act, new employees must present proof that they are legally authorized to work in the United States. When you take a new job, you are required to fill out the employee’s section of USCIS Form I-9 by the end of your first day on the job. You then have three business days to present your new employer with documents proving that:

• you are who you say you are, and
• you are legally authorized to work in the United States.

If you use forged, counterfeit, or altered documents to prove your identification or authorization to work, you may be fined and even imprisoned.

When One Document Is Sufficient

United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, formerly the INS) periodically updates the list of documents sufficient to prove both identity and eligibility to be employed in the United States. Any one of the following documents is sufficient, on its own, to meet the requirements:

• an unexpired United States passport
• an unexpired foreign passport with an I-551 stamp
• an alien registration receipt card or permanent resident card
• an unexpired employment authorization card
• an unexpired employment authorization document, issued by USCIS, which contains a photograph, or
• an unexpired foreign passport with Form I-94 containing an endorsement of nonimmigrant status.

When Two Documents Are Required

An employee who does not have one of the documents listed above must produce two documents: one establishing that he or she is authorized to work in the United States and another verifying identity.
To prove employment authorization, USCIS will accept:

• a Social Security card
• a U.S. birth or birth abroad certificate
• a Native American tribal document
• a U.S. citizen ID card
• a resident citizen ID card, or
• unexpired employment authorization documents issued by the Department of Homeland Security.

As proof of identity, USCIS will accept:

• a current U.S. or Canadian driver’s license that contains a photograph or description of personal characteristics
• a federal, state, or local identification card with a photograph on it
• a school ID card with a photograph
• a voter’s registration card
• a U.S. military card or draft record
• a military dependent’s ID card
• a U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner card, or
• a Native American tribal document.

For workers age 16 and younger, USCIS considers a school report card, daycare or nursery school record, or a hospital record (such as a birth certificate) acceptable as proof of identity.

CAUTION

Your employer may copy and keep the forms. Your new employer is required to note the type of documents you produce and any expiration dates on your Form I-9. Although employers are not required to photocopy such documents, they have the right to do so. If they do, the copies must be kept on file with your Form I-9.

To learn more about immigrant documentation, see Nolo's Immigrant Law section.

http://www.nolo.com/legal-encycloped...apter16-3.html

Originally Posted by MW

Yeah, what documents would a U.S. citizen require? To work at Panda Express I would think all that would be required is a social security card.

I didn't know BIRTH CERTIFICATES had an expiration date!

You gotta be f***in kidding me! How is making sure that your employees are legal citizens considered discrimination? Are we living in Twilight Zone?! And how the hell do you as a business owner discriminate against non-U.S. citizens in your hiring practices when non-U.S. citizens aren't legally allowed to work in the U.S., let alone allowed to be here in the first place. This is absolutely insane.

I think I'm going to be eating at Panda Express more often just to show my support for businesses trying to follow the law and not hire illegals.

Originally Posted by 6 Million Dollar Man

You gotta be f***in kidding me! How is making sure that your employees are legal citizens considered discrimination? Are we living in Twilight Zone?! And how the hell do you as a business owner discriminate against non-U.S. citizens in your hiring practices when non-U.S. citizens aren't legally allowed to work in the U.S., let alone allowed to be here in the first place. This is absolutely insane.

I think I'm going to be eating at Panda Express more often just to show my support for businesses trying to follow the law and not hire illegals.

Not all non-citizens are illegal aliens.