The U.S. Justice Department announced this week that GM has agreed to a settlement regarding alleged discrimination against non-U.S. citizens in the automaker’s hiring process.
According to a recent report from Reuters, a U.S. Justice Department investigation determined that GM’s export compliance assessments required lawful permanent residents to provide an unexpired foreign passport as a condition of employment, which is considered to be an illegal stipulation, imposing a discriminatory barrier against non-U.S. citizens in the hiring process.
The report states that GM hiring practices incorporated the illegal requirement as recently as September of the 2021 calendar year. Under the new settlement, GM is required to pay $365,000 in civil penalties to the United States, as well as train GM personnel on the law’s requirements, revise its employment policies, and be subject to reporting and monitoring going forward.
GM addressed the settlement in a statement, admitting to no wrongdoing.
“There was no formal determination that GM engaged in discrimination and we make no admission of wrongdoing, but we welcome this resolution as an opportunity both to avoid litigation and to refine and clarify our internal administrative processes to further improve the employee experience,” said GM spokeswoman Maria Raynal in an email.
In other GM employment news, The General recently announced a new voluntary separation program, or VSP, offering certain employees the opportunity to receive pay, health coverage, and other benefits for a limited time in exchange for voluntarily leaving company. The VSP was put in place as an effort at GM to reduce fixed costs and achieve $2 billion in savings over the course of the next two years. Roughly 5,000 salaried workers opted to take the VSP offer.
If not enough employees opted to take part in the VSP, GM CEO Mary Barra indicated that General Motors would resort to layoffs in order to achieve the reduced headcount that was desired. However, GM CFO Paul Jacobson later stated that the results of the VSP provide adequate cost-cutting measures, and that layoffs would be avoided.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more GM legal news, GM business news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.
Comments
Is this just recently illegal? I though you had to have a green card to work if you didn’t have a SS or qualifying birth certificate. Is this administration this desperate to make sure foreigners get jobs over citizens?
Glad to see our Justice Department is focused on such high impact areas as thousands of illegals continue to cross our southern borders.
And illegal Americans are not hired,, the fine should have been doubled .. Another Fine decision, Mary ..
GM admits to no wrong doing. If GM becomes naughty, or needs money the US Government will always bail them out. Just like the last time, however GM went bankrupt and than reopened.
I have not had a GM product since 1998. way to go GM