Gap settles U.S. charges of job discrimination based on immigration status

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - Gap Inc has settled federal charges that it routinely discriminated against employees who were not U.S. citizens because of their immigration status, the Department of Justice said on Monday.

The accord requires the San Francisco-based clothing retailer to pay a $73,263 civil fine, provide back wages to two employees who lost work because of its practices, and upgrade its employee training worldwide.

It ends a 3-1/2-year-old probe into Gap, which did not admit wrongdoing and said its actions did not violate a 1986 federal law against immigration-related employment discrimination.

Gap was accused of unnecessarily "reverifying" the employment eligibility of some lawful permanent residents and naturalized U.S. citizens, and requiring some employees to provide specific immigration documents to confirm their eligibility to work.

The Justice Department said Gap's reliance on an electronic program used for employment eligibility contributed to the discriminatory conduct.

Gap had no immediate comment on the settlement.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis)