Justice Department Announces Immigration Lawsuit Settlement With McDonald’s

A statement from the U.S. Justice Department revealed that the agency reached an immigration lawsuit settlement with the McDonald’s restaurant chain. The immigration lawsuit settlement involved accusations against the fast food giant of discriminatory practices against immigrant employees. The settlement stems from an investigation into how the restaurant chain treated immigrants classified as “lawful permanent residents”, including firing them from jobs when they could not show current documentation.

Details of the Immigration Lawsuit Settlement

The immigration lawsuit settlement will require McDonald’s to pay $355,000 in fines for violation of immigration laws. The settlement only includes those restaurants owned by the corporation, not the thousands of others owned by the company’s franchisees. The immigration lawsuit settlement also calls the corporate McDonald’s restaurants to undergo supervision for 20 months, as well as training its managers and employees on the government’s anti-discrimination regulations.

Investigation Leads to Immigration Lawsuit Settlement

The process that led to the Justice Department’s immigration lawsuit settlement started with an anonymous tip to the Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices. The OSC investigation found that managers at corporate-owned McDonald’s restaurants required lawful permanent residents to show their employers a new permanent resident card, more commonly known as a “green card”, when their previous card expired. The current law does not require employees who are lawful permanent residents to show their new cards to employers to continue their employment.

Immigration Lawsuit Settlement Reveals “Discriminatory” Practices

The allegations revealed in the immigration lawsuit settlement showed that managers at corporate-owned McDonald’s restaurants would not allow workers who did not have current permanent resident cards to work until they could bring in updated documentation. In many cases, those employees lost their jobs. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said that the practices revealed in the immigration lawsuit settlement were “discriminatory” and that the Department “will not hesitate to enforce the law and protect the rights of work-authorized immigrants.”

Fired Workers Eligible For Immigration Lawsuit Settlement Compensation

Another provision of the immigration lawsuit settlement allows workers who lost work time or were terminated to seek compensation from the company. Lawful permanent residents who were employed by a corporate-owned McDonald’s restaurant between Sept. 23, 2012, and March 1, 2015, may be eligible for compensation. Under the terms of the immigration lawsuit settlement, the workers must show proof that they were terminated due to issues involving their permanent residency documentation.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

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NOTE: This post is a news story and does not imply an endorsement of Arguello Law Firm by any of the parties mentioned herein.