The US Department of Justice and AllianceIT agreed to settle a claim that the IT staffing provider discriminated against US workers by posting a job advertisement aimed exclusively at non-US citizens with a specific type of temporary visa.

The advertisement specified a preference for “ONLY OPTs who can work” using a W-2 tax form. Optional practical training (OPT) permits foreign students holding an F-1 visa to engage in temporary employment related to the student’s major area of study, according to the department.

The Immigration and Nationality Act’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from discriminating in hiring by preferring candidates with temporary work visas over US workers. Under the INA, employers cannot discriminate based on citizenship, immigration status or national origin at any stage of the hiring process, including the posting of job advertisements, regardless of whether it affects the final hiring outcome.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Pleasanton, California-based AllianceIT will train its employees on the requirements of the INA’s anti-discrimination provision; change its policies and procedures to comply with this law; and be subject to two years of department monitoring, including providing regular reports to the department.

“Companies cannot place US students at a disadvantage for job opportunities by advertising a hiring preference for foreign students with visas,” said Eric Dreiband, assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division. “The Department of Justice will vigorously enforce the law to ensure that employers are held accountable whenever they discriminate against US students or other US workers because of their citizenship.”

This is the 10th settlement under the Civil Rights Division’s Protecting US Workers Initiative, which is aimed at targeting, investigating and taking enforcement actions against companies that discriminate against US workers in favor of temporary foreign visa workers.