1250 Broadway, 27th Floor New York, NY 10001

(WASN’T) BORN IN THE USA

WASN’T HIRED BECAUSE SHE COULDN’T PRESENT A U.S. BIRTH CERTIFICATE

When Anke H. applied for a job with ResourceMFG she was told that she needed to present a U.S. birth certificate to complete the process. After Anke informed the company that she couldn’t present such a certificate (but that she was a citizen), the company ended the hiring process.

Because such conduct is violative of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a civil lawsuit (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Employbridge of Dallas, Inc., d/b/a ResourceMFG, Civil Action No. 5:22-cv-00499-J) in June 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma.

On March 20, 2023, the agency announced that it had reached a settlement, wherein ResourceMG agreed to pay Anke $75,000 in damages and to “periodically” report its compliance with the law (in addition to advising future applicants that the company will not discriminate on the basis of national origin).

In a written statement, Andrea G. Baran, regional attorney for the EEOC’s St. Louis District office observed, “Citizenship requirements are permitted only where required by law, regulation, executive order, or government contract …. Staffing agencies may not add additional requirements, such as U.S. birth, when screening or selecting applicants for referral to positions with legitimate citizenship requirements.”

That wasn’t so resourceful of ResourceMFG. (And look what their employment requirements gave birth to!)

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SOURCE

EEOC PRESS RELEASE (03/20/23)

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