1st Class Staffing LLC reached a settlement agreement to resolve allegations that its Fontana, Calif., office discriminated against work-authorized non-US citizens, the US Justice Department announced.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Orem, Utah-based 1st Class Staffing will pay $17,600 in civil penalties. The company will also pay for lost wages to the charging party whose complaint initiated the department’s investigation, participate in department-provided anti-discrimination training and be subject to departmental monitoring.

The department’s investigation found that 1st Class Staffing’s Fontana office routinely requested that non-US citizens, but not US citizens, provide specific immigration documents to establish their authority to work. This violated the Immigration and Nationality Act, which dictates that all workers, including non-US citizens, must be allowed to choose whichever valid documentation they would like to present.

“Employers must ensure that their human resources, hiring and recruitment staff understand and implement proper hiring practices to avoid violating anti-discrimination laws,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “We commend 1st Class for its cooperation and commitment to removing unnecessary and unlawful employment barriers.”