WASHINGTON,
D.C. Tropicana Hotel & Casino in
Atlantic City, New Jersey, under an
agreement reached with the Department of
Justice, has agreed to pay $75,000 in civil
penalties to settle allegations of workplace
discrimination.
Under
the agreement approved by Judge Robert
Barton of the Department's Office of the
Chief Administrative Hearing Officer (OCAHO),
the Office of Special Counsel for
Immigration Related Unfair Employment
Practices (OSC) will train and educate human
resources personnel on fair hiring practices
at the Tropicana Casino & Resort and
monitor its hiring practices for two years.
OSC's investigation found that the company
required non-citizens to produce documents
issued by the Immigration and Naturalization
Service, a practice Congress made illegal in
1990.
"This
settlement serves the public interest and
will make Tropicana an industry leader in
complying with the law," said Special
Counsel John Trasviņa. "We found 978
violations of the federal
anti-discrimination provisions. As this
industry relies more and more on immigrant
labor, our work is increasing. We want to
make sure all companies have the tools and
knowledge they need so that fair hiring
practices prevail."
Established
by Congress by the Immigration Reform and
Control Act of 1986 (IRCA), the OSC is the
only office in the federal government whose
sole mission is to enforce IRCA's
protections against citizenship status and
national origin discrimination and
"document abuse" in hiring and
firing.