The U.S. Justice Department has fined IT consulting services company iGate Mastech Inc $45,000 to settle charges that iGate discriminated against American citizens and Green Card holders in hiring employees.

iGate is a Pittsburgh-based company originally founded by a bunch of Indians.

This is what the U.S. Justice Department had to say about the fine on iGate:

The settlement stems from the Department’s finding that, between May 9, 2006, and June 4, 2006, iGate placed 30 job announcements for computer programmers that expressly favored H-1B visa holders to the exclusion of U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and other legal U.S. workers. Such preference constituted citizenship status discrimination and is prohibited by the Immigration and Nationality Act.

“We are committed to protecting the right of all authorized workers in the United States against citizenship status discrimination,” said Grace Chung Becker, Acting Assistant Attorney General for Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “We are pleased to have reached the settlement with iGate, and look forward to continuing to work with the business community to educate the public about the protections and obligations under the anti-discrimination provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act.”

Under the terms of the settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, iGate Mastech must also train its recruitment personnel and post a non-discrimination statement on its Web site.

The Office of Special Counsel for Immigration-Related Unfair Employment Practices in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Justice Department, which investigated iGate Mastech, will continue to monitor the company to ensure compliance with the settlement agreement.

If you are looking for information on protections against employment discrimination under the U.S. immigration laws, please call 1-800-255-7688.