How to sue recruiters who illegally inquire about work status
Jan 7
50 Comments
Many recruiters ask about citizenship or work authorization. After I say I’m authorized to work, they keep insisting on knowing the actual visa status.
How can we report or sue them?
It’s illegal to discriminate on the basis of your visa or work authorization. They’re only allowed to ask whether you’re authorized to work
comments
Details if anyone is curious:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-settles-microsoft-resolve-immigration-related-discrimination-claims
So you shouldn’t ask an applicant which documents they have to prove authorization, but you can inquire as to whether or not an applicant will require an H1-B visa, for instance. Be sure to ask the same question to every applicant.
What You Can Ask
The US Department of Justice’s Office of Special Counsel (OSC) for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The OSC has previously established the following questions are allowable in an interview setting:
Are you authorized to work lawfully in the United States?
Will you now, or in the future require [company name] to commence (sponsor) an immigration case in order to employ you (for example, H-1B or other employment-based immigration case)?
In this way, you can ask if an applicant will need an H1-B visa, without directly asking them which documents they have.
I don't know if that illegal. I may be wrong.