The Justice Department and a Charlotte printing and fulfillment company reached a settlement agreement Tuesday to resolve discrimination against a worker based on citizenship status and a discriminatory policy.
Printful Inc. must pay civil penalties to the U.S. after implementing at least a year-long policy that required only non-U.S. citizens to present specific documents to prove their permission to work.
The company must also back pay a worker after rejecting their valid driver’s license and Social Security card, sufficient documentation for permission to work, and instead requiring them to present a permanent resident card, commonly referred to as a green card.
Employers can’t specify preferred documentation or demand more documentation than is required during this process, according to the Justice Department release.
“Companies cannot reject workers’ valid documents or require specific or unnecessary documents based on citizenship status when checking their permission to work,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to hold accountable employers who run afoul of our nation’s civil rights laws.”
Printful also has to train its employees on the Immigration and Nationality Act’s (INA) anti-discrimination requirements, revise its employment policies and be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements as part of the settlement.
Printful is a print-on-demand drop shipping company that prints and ships print products, like T-shirts, for E-commerce retailers. Its Charlotte operation opened in 2016.
Cooper is a business reporting intern at Business North Carolina. He is working towards degrees in journalism and economics at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He can be reached at coopermetts315@gmail.com.