ICYMI: Denver Sheriff Department Settles Discriminatory Hiring Lawsuit

By Sameer Rao Nov 23, 2016

Following accusations of hiring discrimination against work-authorized undocumented immigrants, the Denver Sheriff Department (DSD) settled with the U.S. Department of Justice for $10,000 on Monday (November 21).

The Justice Department released a statement outlining the settlement on Monday, saying that the Denver department violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) during a 2015-2016 hiring spree when it explicitly required all applicants to be U.S. citizens. "The INA’s anti-discrimination provision prohibits employers from limiting jobs to U.S. citizens except where the employer is required to do so by law, regulation, executive order or government contract," read the statement. "The Denver Sheriff Department was not subject to one of the INA’s exceptions."

The settlement mandates the $10,000 fine, review of deputy sheriff applicants who were disqualified because of citizenship status, human resources training on the INA’s anti-discrimination tenets and a revision of procedures and policies to bring them in line with those tenets.

"While we didn’t commit this violation intentionally, we accept responsibility and are taking steps to clarify policy and amend language in hiring documents," a DSD spokesperson said in an email to The Denver Post.