DOJ settles claim against North Carolina landscaping company

The Justice Department reached a settlement agreement with Triple H Services LLC (Triple H), a landscaping company based in Newland, North Carolina, that conducts business in Virginia and four other states. The agreement resolves the department’s investigation into whether Triple H discriminated against qualified and available U.S. workers based on their citizenship status by preferring to hire temporary workers with H-2B visas, in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

The department’s investigation found that although Triple H went through the motions of advertising over 450 landscape laborer positions in five states, it did so in a manner that misled U.S. workers about the available positions and prevented or deterred some from applying. The department found that Triple did not consider several qualified U.S. workers who applied for positions in Virginia during the recruitment period, and instead hired H-2B visa workers. In several states where jobs were available, the department found that Triple H prematurely closed the online job application process for U.S. worker applicants, filled positions with H-2B visa workers without first advertising the jobs to U.S. workers in the relevant locations, or advertised vacancies in a manner that did not make the postings visible to job seekers using state workforce agency online services.

The Department concluded that in taking these actions, Triple H effectively denied U.S. workers access to jobs based on its preference for hiring temporary H-2B visa workers to fill the positions. Under the settlement Triple H must establish a back pay fund, with a cap of $85,000 to compensate certain individuals who were harmed by its practices. The agreement also requires the company to pay $15,600 in civil penalties.

Click here for the full report from the Department of Justice on the settlement.