‘Dreamers’ Denied Jobs Explore Reach of Hiring Bias Protections

David Rodriguez fled political violence in Venezuela at the age of 14, eventually becoming a “dreamer” allowed to stay and work in the U.S. He’s now at the center of a legal dispute with Procter & Gamble Co. that could test the boundaries of immigration-status discrimination in hiring.

Despite having a two-year work authorization under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, Rodriguez said he was unlawfully denied a finance and accounting internship at P&G. The company at the time had a policy that required U.S. job applicants to be “legally authorized to work with no restraints on the type, ...