The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it reached a settlement agreement with the Woodburn School District over a discrimination claim filed last year.
The DOJ found that the district discriminated against a man for refusing to hire him as a teacher due to his immigration status, even though the district’s hiring committee considered him to be the most qualified applicant for the job; the man is a work-authorized non-U.S. citizen.
The DOJ’s investigation of the school district also found that the district pre-screened the applicant when it asked for specific documentation in regard to his citizenship, but it did not do the same for other applicants.
Under the settlement agreement, the school district is required to pay the rejected applicant $5,774.81. It’s also required to pay the U.S. government $5,543 in civil penalties. The school will also undergo training and monitoring for the next three years.
Eric Dreiband, assistant attorney general with the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ, said the Woodburn School District worked swiftly to "resolve this matter and prevent future violations."
"While the investigation involved a single incident that took place over a year ago, the district takes it seriously and will use it as a training opportunity to prevent future incidents," said Jenne Marquez, executive secretary to the school district's superintendent and board of directors. "The district is fully committed to compliance with the law and highly committed to supporting equity for our immigrant community."
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