Walmart must face the federal government’s attempt to fine it $24 million for alleged failures to keep records on worker eligibility, an appeals court has ruled, reversing a Georgia judge’s decision in the retail giant’s favor.
Between 2018 and 2021, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement inspected 20 Walmart facilities across the country, including in Georgia, and found more than 11,000 record-keeping violations related to employee eligibility and authorization, case records show.
ICE filed 20 complaints against Walmart, seeking a total of $24.2 million in fines. But Walmart convinced a federal judge in South Georgia that ICE’s cases were unconstitutionally being heard by an administrative law judge within the U.S. Department of Justice.
In March 2024, U.S. District Judge Randal Hall of the Southern District of Georgia blocked ICE from pursuing its complaints against Walmart in front of the DOJ judge.
But on Wednesday, the 11th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said Hall’s decision was wrong and overturned it. The appellate court’s decisions are binding across Georgia, Florida and Alabama.
In a statement, Walmart said it disagreed with the decision.
“Walmart will vigorously defend against the government’s allegations regarding its compliance with the technical record-keeping rules at issue here,” spokesperson Hannah Henderson said. “Walmart has invested substantial resources to help ensure a strong employment verification compliance program.”
In case filings, Walmart said ICE did not allege it had unlawfully employed anyone. The company said ICE’s complaints related to alleged failures by Walmart to properly keep records of workers’ “I-9” forms. Those forms indicate a person’s right to work in the United States.
The appeals court disagreed with Walmart’s argument that the administrative law judge overseeing ICE’s cases against it was unlawfully shielded from presidential accountability.
The 11th Circuit said an administrative law judge can adjudicate civil cases against employers accused of violating immigration law.
“A politically accountable executive department head is still ultimately responsible for the ALJs’ decisions, and, as such, the President is able to faithfully execute the law,” the court wrote in its 70-page opinion.
Walmart said in its complaint that ICE had alleged 739 record-keeping violations at Walmart’s facility in Statesboro, Georgia.
Walmart said it requested a hearing to contest the allegations.
It then sued the federal government in June 2023, before ICE’s cases had been decided on the merits, court records show.
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