Civil Rights Division Obtains Settlement with Company that Discouraged U.S. Workers from Applying for Jobs

The United States Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division announced that it has secured a $313,420 settlement agreement with Compunnel Software Group, Inc., a New Jersey based professional services provider. The settlement addresses allegations that the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when some of its recruiters posted job advertisements for positions in the United States that included citizenship status restrictions not authorized by law. The explicitly discriminatory language in some of the ads excluded U.S. citizens and Permanent Residents from consideration for desirable employment opportunities while favoring those with H-1B or other temporary visas. Under the settlement agreement, Compunnel has agreed to pay $58,000 in back pay to the Charging Party, a U.S. Citizen who was excluded from consideration for a position as a Python Developer based on his citizenship status. It has also agreed to pay civil penalties to the United States Treasury in the amount of $255,420. Compunnel has agreed to other injunctive relief and has already taken steps to train and monitor its recruiters, as well as enhance compliance systems to prevent future discrimination.

"It's illegal to discourage U.S. workers from applying for American jobs," said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Employers cannot exclude U.S. workers from the labor force by discriminating against them based on their citizenship status. Employers must design recruitment, training, and compliance practices to ensure adherence to federal civil rights laws."

This settlement is the ninth settlement since the Department re-launched its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative in 2025 to enforce the INA's prohibition on citizenship status discrimination against companies that illegally discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of those with employment visas. Under these settlements, the Department obtains civil penalties for each violation and will continue to seek the maximum penalty permitted by law. The settlements also involve awards of back pay, when warranted, and require employers to conduct comprehensive training for relevant staff and recruiters and cease restricting consideration for job opportunities based on workers' citizenship status without a lawful reason.

For information about additional settlements under the Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative, visit IER's website.

For informal assistance, the public can call IER's free hotline at 1-800-255-7688 for workers or at 1-800-255-8155 for employers (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired between 9am and 5pm Eastern Time, Monday through Friday; sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation; email [email protected]; or visit www.justice.gov/ier.