Mrs. Fields To Pay $26K Settlement For Fed's Discrimination Suit

BROOMFIELD, CO – Broomfield-based Mrs. Fields' Original Cookies, Inc. will pay $26,000 in a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice after an investigation of workplace discrimination at the company's Salt Lake City-based production and distribution center.

The DOJ said the company violated national labor laws between at least March, 2016-March 2017 by asking employees at the facility who were lawful permanent residents of the U.S. to prove their citizenship status, while not asking U.S. citizens for the same proof.

According to the DOJ, managers at Mrs. Fields demanded specific documentation issued by the Department of Homeland Security to prove work authorization, thereby violating the anti-discrimination provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

“Workers should not have to face discrimination because of citizenship status or national origin in the employment eligibility verification process,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division in a statement.

Read the settlement agreement here.

Mrs. Fields and TCBY Yogurt are both headquartered in Broomfield under the "Famous Brands" name.

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