The Justice Department recently announced that it reached a settlement with McDonald’s Corporation related to discrimination against certain immigrant employees.

It was discovered that at some company owned restaurants McDonald’s had an established practice of “reverifying” the work authorization of some lawful permanent residents by requiring them to show new documentation after expiration of their original Permanent Resident Card (aka Green Card). The law expressly prohibits reverifying Permanent Resident Cards with either an expiration date or no expiration date because – like US citizens – lawful permanent residents have authorization to live and work in the United States on a permanent basis. The expiration of the card does not mean the lawful permanent residents lose their right to work or their status.

During the employment eligibility process, lawful permanent residents, like any other new employee, can choose to present any valid documentation from the list of acceptable documents to establish their identity and authorization to work. Lawful permanent residents who choose to present an unexpired permanent resident card are not required to present any additional documentation after the card expires.

As a result of the settlement, McDonald’s will pay $355,000 in fines, be monitored for 20 months and is required to train its employees. They will also have to compensate anyone who lost work or their job as a result of their process.

How can situations like this be avoided? Automating your employment eligibility verification process is a great start if you choose the right technology. You need to implement an intelligent electronic I-9/E-Verify system with rock-solid compliance logic, making it nearly impossible to perform an unlawful practice.

Tracker’s I-9 Complete solution enforces business logic that prevents your I-9 manager from being prompted to reverify an employee that presented a Permanent Resident Card for Section 2 or in Section 3, thereby completely eliminating the risk of committing the same costly error as McDonald’s. That’s why Tracker is the most trusted partner for I-9 and E-Verify compliance with a perfect 12-year record with federal agencies and systems.

Request a demo of Tracker’s I-9 and E-Verify solution and take the first step toward flawless compliance.