Tropicana AC casino fined for INS violations

Laurence Arnold

Friday, Aug. 3, 2001 | 10:30 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City has agreed to pay $75,000 in civil penalties to settle allegations of workplace discrimination against non-citizens.

A lawyer for the casino said the case was "an example of federal over-regulation at its best."

The settlement was announced Wednesday by the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration Related Unfair Employment Practices. It said Tropicana required non-citizens to produce documents issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service, a practice Congress outlawed in 1990.

Special Counsel John Trasvina said the government found 978 violations of federal anti-discrimination provisions at Tropicana.

"As this industry relies more and more on immigrant labor, our work is increasing," he said. "We want to make sure all companies have the tools and knowledge they need so that fair hiring practices prevail."

Under the agreement, the Office of Special Counsel will train and educate human resources personnel at the casino on fair hiring practices, and will monitor hiring there for two years.

Tropicana's lawyer, Russell L. Lichtenstein, said in a statement released by the casino that employees tried to comply with immigration laws and made "technical mistakes ... in certain limited cases."

When brought to the casino's attention by the government, the errors were "immediately corrected," Lichtenstein said. The federal government could have issued a warning, he said, but instead chose to file a complaint.

"Tropicana was caught between the proverbial 'rock and a hard place,"' he said. "On the one hand, the INS will sanction employers for failing to obtain adequate documentation regarding the ability of employees to work and, on the other hand, the Office of Special Counsel prosecutes employers for asking for too much documentation."

He said Tropicana "is an equal employment opportunity employer and prides itself in maintaining a diverse work force."

In March the Justice Department reached a settlement with the Excalibur Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, which agreed to pay more than $50,000 in civil penalties and back pay for 22 workers fired or suspended in a company immigration document sweep.

That case stemmed from a Bosnian refugee's claim that he was fired for not providing a new Immigration and Naturalization work authorization card.

The Justice Department said the man provided an INS departure-arrival document stamped "employment authorized" that should have been sufficient.