The U.S. Department of Justice announced this week that the U.S. District Court for the District of Nebraska ruled in the department’s favor Dec. 9 in its breach of contract claim against Nebraska Beef Ltd., a meat packing company based in Omaha, Neb.

DOJ originally filed a lawsuit against Nebraska Beef in October 2015, claiming that the company had refused to comply with several terms of the parties’ settlement agreement. In August 2015, the parties had entered into an agreement to resolve the department’s investigation into whether Nebraska Beef was discriminating against work-authorized immigrants. When Nebraska Beef refused to pay the agreed-upon $200,000 civil penalty and initiate the required backpay claims process, the U.S. filed suit to enforce the agreement. The latest ruling orders the company to pay the $200,000 it owed and comply with all of the terms of the agreement.

“The department looks forward to working with Nebraska Beef to ensure that it complies with all of the provisions of the settlement agreement,” said principal deputy assistant attorney general Vanita Gupta, head of the DOJ Civil Rights Division. “The court’s ruling, and the underlying agreement, further our efforts to protect the federal employment rights of individuals with legal authorization to work in the United States.” 

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration & Nationality Act. The statute prohibits, among other things, citizenship, immigration status and national origin discrimination in hiring, firing or recruitment or referral for a fee; unfair documentary practices in employment eligibility verification; retaliation, and intimidation.