It had been alleged that at least one of Wendy's (Restwend) restaurants in Maine refused to hire any that they believed were not United States Citizens. The US Department of Justice (DOJ), headed by Attorney general Eric Holder, believed that the Wendy's was engaged in employment discrimination as the Immigration and Nationality Act prohibits discrimination in hiring against authorized workers on the basis of citizenship status.
Restwend and DOJ reached an settlement where Restwend is to pay $14,500 in back pay, plus interest, to a victim of the citizens-only policy in addition to $3,200 in civil penalties. Further Restwend agreed to training for human resources personnel and and monitor its human resources personnel about an employers' nondiscrimination responsibilities under the INA.
In the DOJ the Civil Rights Division's Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices (OSC) is responsible for enforcing the anti-discrimination provision of the INA, which protects work authorized individuals against discrimination in hiring, firing and recruitment or referral for a fee on the basis of citizenship status and national origin. The INA also protects all work-authorized individuals from discrimination in the employment.