Louisiana Shipbuilder Fined for Worker Retaliation

The U.S. Department of Justice has reached an agreement with a Louisiana shipbuilder resolving a complaint filed with the department’s Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC), claiming the company had retaliated against an individual for filing a discrimination charge with OSC.

A Justice Department said its investigation determined that North American Shipbuilding LLC, a division of Edison Chouest Offshore located in Larose, Louisiana, had retaliated against an employee for filing a charge with OSC by, among other things, barring him from the company’s business facilities, a violation of the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which prohibits employers from intimidating, threatening, coercing or retaliating against workers who file a charge under the law.

Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the company has agreed, among other things, to pay a civil penalty, offer $15,000 in back pay to the injured party and train its employees on the anti-discrimination provision of the INA and to review and revise its employment policies, according to the Justice Department .

“Retaliation against employees for contacting government agencies entrusted to investigate possible violations of the law will not be tolerated,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Civil Rights Division. “Employees should not be afraid to speak up about their treatment in the workplace.”