Diversified Business Consulting Group Inc., an IT staffing firm headquartered in Silver Spring, Md., reached an agreement with the US Department of Justice to settle a claim that Diversified discriminated against work-authorized non-US citizens in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The claim alleged Diversified violated the anti-discrimination provision of the INA by demanding more or different documents from work-authorized non-US citizens than US citizens are required to present.

Under the settlement agreement, Diversified will pay $7,700 in civil penalties to the United States and undergo department-provided training on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, according to the Department. Diversified’s corporate office and its branches will be subject to departmental monitoring and reporting requirements.

The case initially started when an applicant filed a “frivolous” immigration claim that was dismissed, according to Gerald Boyd, Sr., president of Diversified.

“This doesn’t involve a person. It has nothing to do with discrimination in that sense,” said Boyd. “As a result of that investigation, the department discovered an alleged concern with a secondary issue with the firm’s process.”

The company agreed to the settlement in order to move forward and avoid additional legal expense.

“They were hounding us. We totally disagree with it but sometimes you have to deal with things from a business perspective to bring it to closure,” Boyd said. “We were wasting time with it.”

“The Civil Rights Division is committed to protecting work-authorized individuals from discriminatory practices in the employment eligibility verification process,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta for the Civil Rights Division. “We commend Diversified for working cooperatively with the division to resolve this matter."