CALDWELL, Idaho—Crookham Co., an Idaho-based seed company, reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Justice Department June 27 that resolves allegations the company discriminated against non-U.S. citizens who were authorized to work in this country.
According to the six-page agreement, Crookham agreed to pay a $200,000 civil penalty to resolve accusations by the department that the company’s employment eligibility verification practices violated the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
Crookham denied engaging in unfair hiring practices and also did not admit to violating the act or any other law or regulation.
Crookham CEO George Crookham told Capital Press the company immediately took action and worked with the Justice Department to correct problems the department had with its employment documents.
“We were making some mistakes that we didn’t realize were improper. We didn’t want to discriminate against anybody,” he said. “We had an issue with our documents (and) we did everything we could to fix (the problem).”
Source: www.capitalpress.com