Loews Hotels to Pay $12,000 Fine to Settle Union Complaint

Loews Hotels Holding Corp. has agreed to pay a $12,000 fine and retrain all human resource managers in its chain to settle a union-filed charge that managers illegally checked immigration documents of employees.

The case grew out of a complaint filed last summer with the Department of Justice by an employee at the Loews Santa Monica Beach Hotel. Eventually, it led to a review of employment forms kept by hotels throughout the chain.

The employee, Mario Guevara, was asked to show proof of legal residency after his residency document, or green card, had expired. Guevara said that he was still a permanent legal resident, even though the document itself had expired, and should be allowed to continue working. But the hotel suspended him for two days, until he could produce new documents.

The settlement includes a $60 payment to Guevara for lost wages.

The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees union, which is attempting to organize workers at the Santa Monica hotel, helped Guevara file the complaint. The union has since filed two other complaints alleging improper document checking.

Although employers are responsible for determining the legal status of all hires, they cannot discriminate against applicants by asking for excessive documentation or singling out certain groups, such as immigrants. Guevara said that he was singled out because he was an immigrant and that the expiration of a U.S. citizen’s passport, for example, would not have triggered a check.

The Department of Justice did not return calls seeking comment on the settlement, which is to be announced today.

Union representative Kurt Peterson said improper document checks are common and often are used to intimidate workers, especially those involved in union drives.

“Our belief is this kind of careless verification occurs all the time,” Peterson said. “What infrequently happens is that people actually stand up and say something about it.”

Loews spokeswoman Sara Harper conceded that the investigation by the Justice Department’s Office of Special Counsel had found numerous instances in the files of improper checks of expired green cards. But Harper added that the laws are complex and that turnover in hiring departments can lead to mistakes.

“We’ve recently learned about the unusual aspects of the [verification] process,” she said. “These kinds of little nuances are things that are probably easy to overlook.”

Harper said the hotel chain considers the settlement “fair,” adding, “This guy is due his wages, and there’s no problem with that.”