Justice Department fines UC San Diego $4,700 for discriminating against immigrant workers

The U.S. Justice Department has fined UC San Diego $4,712 for asking immigrants who are authorized to work in this country to provide documents that they are not required to produce.

The department announced the fine Thursday and issued a settlement agreement in which the university and the UC Board of Regents claim that they have not committed any wrong-doing.

The case involves suspected document abuse.

An unspecified number of immigrants were asked to re-establish their right to work in the U.S. after their authorization cards had expired, a request that was tied to their citizenship.

“The antidiscrimination provision of the (Immigration and Nationality Act) prohibits such requests for documents when based on an employee’s citizenship status or national origin,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

UC San Diego agreed to pay the fine and to train some of its human resources workers on the specifics of the anti-discrimination provision, the department said.

University officials did not respond to a request for comment.

gary.robbins@sduniontribune.com

Robbins writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.