Leading apparel retailer Gap Inc. has settled federal charges that it routinely discriminated against employees who were not US citizens because of their immigration status, the Department of Justice said.
The accord requires Gap to pay a US $73,263 civil fine, provide back wages to two employees who lost work because of its practices and upgrade its employee training worldwide.
It ends a three-and-half-year-old probe into Gap, which did not admit wrongdoing and said its actions did not violate a 1986 federal law against immigration-related employment discrimination.
The Justice Department said Gap’s reliance on an electronic programme used for employment eligibility contributed to the discriminatory conduct.
Gap was accused of unnecessarily ‘re-verifying’ the employment eligibility of some lawful permanent residents and naturalised US citizens, and requiring some employees to provide specific immigration documents to confirm their eligibility to work.
The American retailer said in a statement that it no longer uses that programme, and added “we believe we are in compliance with all federal requirements.”
