IBM, Justice Department resolve on online job listing complaint for discrimination

Technology giant IBM has agreed to pay $44.400 in civil penalties to resolve a complaint to the Department of Justice of United States (DoJ) on discrimination of job posting online.

The giant technology allegedly violated the anti-discrimination provision of the immigration and nationality (INA) Act when placed online job offerings for developers and application software. According to the complaint, IBM job listings contained preferences citizenship status to F-1 and H-1B temporary visa holders.

While they issued F-1 visas to foreign students studying in the United States and to specialized foreign H-1B visas are sent, the INA does not allow discrimination based on citizenship status unless required to comply with the law, governmental decrees or contracts.

The Justice Department said Friday that although IBM online job vacancies were positions that would require employees to work abroad, the anti-discrimination provision of the INA doesn't allow preferences for specific types of visa express companies.

In particular, the INA prevents companies asking or implying a preference by the temporary visa holders rather than be considered a citizen, based in United States.

Under the agreement, IBM will pay $44.400 in civil penalties to the U.S. Government and has also agreed to review its contracting procedures. HR technology giant staff are also required to be retrained in accordance with INA and will have to inform the justice for the next two years.

"Employers should give all eligible candidates to compete for employment, equal opportunities," said Jocelyn Samuels, acting Deputy Prosecutor-General of the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. "The Department is committed to ensuring that employers not discriminate illegally against American citizens and other authorized individuals work based on their citizenship status".

In August, due to the decrease in hardware sales and poor profit margins, IBM extended summer vacation for most of your hardware staff based in the United States through a week's holiday. The giant of the technology Q2 results were a heterogeneous group, as Big Blue reported earnings of $3.2 billion, or $2.91 per share on revenues of $24.9 billion - three percent from a year ago.