Justice Department Secures Agreement with Vegetation Maintenance Company to Resolve Immigration-Related Discrimination Claims

The Justice Department announced today that it secured an agreement with Burford’s Construction LLC (Burford’s), an Alabama-based contractor that provides vegetation clearing and maintenance for electrical utility companies and municipalities. The agreement resolves the department’s determination that Burford’s routinely discriminated against lawful permanent residents when verifying their permission to work by demanding specific, and sometimes unnecessary, documents.

“Employers cannot demand specific or unnecessary documents from workers because of their citizenship status when checking their permission to work,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “All workers, regardless of citizenship status, deserve a hiring process that is free from discrimination.”

After conducting an investigation, the Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) determined that, from at least Jan. 1, 2021, through May 30, 2023, Burford’s routinely required lawful permanent residents to present specific immigration documents to establish their permission to work, even when they had already provided sufficient proof.

Under the terms of the settlement, Burford’s will pay $308,689 in civil penalties to the United States, train its personnel on anti-discrimination requirements, revise its employment policies that relate to hiring and be subject to departmental monitoring.

Lawful permanent residents are sometimes referred to as “green card holders,” but they can show their permission to work using different types of documentation. As explained in the department’s newly-released fact sheet for lawful permanent residents, the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) protects lawful permanent residents from discrimination when an employer is verifying their permission to work. Employers cannot limit the valid documentation that a lawful permanent resident may show when verifying their ability to work. The fact sheet also explains how lawful permanent residents can get help if they are being discriminated against.

IER is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA. The statute prohibits citizenship status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices; and retaliation and intimidation.   

IER’s website has more information on lawful permanent residents’ rights under the INA and how employers can avoid unlawful discrimination when verifying someone’s permission to work. Learn more about IER’s work and how to get assistance through this brief video. Applicants or employees who believe they were discriminated against based on their citizenship, immigration status or national origin in hiring, firing, recruitment or during the employment eligibility verification process (Form I-9 and E-Verify); or subjected to retaliation, may file a charge. The public can also call IER’s worker hotline at 1-800-255-7688 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); call IER’s employer hotline at 1-800-255-8155 (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired); sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit IER’s English and Spanish websites. Sign up for email updates from IER.