Accountemps, a division of Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI), and the US Department of Justice settled a claim that Accountemps engaged in citizenship status discrimination in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act, according to the US Department of Justice.

Accountemps refused to refer a naturalized US citizen for a federal government contract position because the charging party was not born in the United States, according to the Department of Justice. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, employers cannot discriminate against US citizens based on their citizenship status, including refusing to hire them based on whether they were born in or outside the United States.

Under the settlement, Accountemps will continue to refer the charging party for positions for which she is qualified, pay a $2,500 civil penalty, train its staff on the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act and be subject to a one-year monitoring period.

In a statement, Robert Half responded, "This was an isolated case and not reflective of our policies, practices or philosophy at Robert Half. The mistake was made by an individual employee who failed to escalate a complaint made by one of our temporary employees against a client who made an inappropriate request. This was a regrettable error, and we have already taken quick steps to educate that employee and others. You should also know that we placed that temporary employee in another assignment and will continue to work with her.  We regularly provide EEO awareness training, including training on all EEO anti-discrimination policies. We are committed to both the letter and the spirit of equal opportunity laws."

“The INA’s anti-discrimination provision does not recognize different classes of US citizens when it comes to the right to work in the United States,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta of the Civil Rights Division. “We applaud Accountemps for its cooperation in addressing the concerns raised in this matter.”