Justice Department settles with Va. company accused of excluding U.S. workers from jobs

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division has reached a settlement with a Virginia IT company accused of posting job advertisements in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 

According to a Feb. 25 news release from the Justice Department, Elegant Enterprise-Wide Solutions Inc., an IT services provider, posted job advertisements generated by an artificial intelligence tool that contained citizenship restrictions in violation of the INA, including restrictions to consider only applicants with H-1B, OPT or H-4 visas. 

Settlement terms released by the Justice Department stated that Elegant Enterprise-Wide Solutions is due to pay $9,460 to the U.S. Treasury in two installments. Elegant Enterprise-Wide Solutions is also required to review and revise existing employment policies within 60 days and ensure no policies contain discrimination based on citizenship status, immigration status or national origin in the employment process. 

“It is unconscionable for companies to illegally exclude U.S. workers when recruiting and hiring,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon said via press release. “This Department of Justice will not tolerate discriminating against U.S. workers, no matter who – or what – drafts a job advertisement, or whether it is an employee, a recruiter, or an AI tool.” 

The settlement agreement, dated Feb. 23, marks the eighth settlement since the Justice Department relaunched its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative in 2025. The initiative enforces “the INA’s prohibition on citizenship status discrimination against companies that illegally discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of those with employment visas.”