The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Immigrant and Employee Rights Section, has issued a Fact Sheet that outlines workplace discrimination protections for permanent residents (often called “green card holders”).
IER’s two-page Fact Sheet, published in November, is entitled “Lawful Permanent Residents’ Employment Rights Under the Immigration and Nationality Act.” It delineates protections under the INA in three areas: hiring, firing, and recruiting; verifying work authorization; and retaliation.
It notes that employers generally cannot limit jobs to U.S. citizens or refuse to hire someone because they were born in another country. It discusses the documents that employers can request when verifying work authorization and notes that an employer may not ask for more documentation than is necessary. It also stresses that the INA forbids employers to retaliate against permanent residents who try to enforce their rights, such as by firing or threatening them or reducing their work hours or pay.