Hertz clarifies policy for employees after Puerto Rican man was denied rental car

Hertz has rewritten some of its policies to make it clear to employees that Puerto Rico driver’s licenses are a valid form of identification for car rentals, and that Puerto Ricans are required to provide additional proof of identification in the United States. No, the move comes after a Puerto Rican man. was a man Refused to rent a car. When Hertz employees demanded to see his passport instead of his license.

The incident occurred on May 10 at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport when Humberto Marchand was denied a Hertz rental car after showing his Puerto Rico driver’s license. The Hertz employee demanded to see Marchand’s passport, which he was not carrying because Puerto Ricans are US citizens, making a passport unnecessary for travel in the US.

In response, Puerto Rico’s congressional representative, Jennifer Gonzalez-Collin, wrote a direct letter to Hertz CEO Stephen Sher last week, saying it was “unacceptable that 100 years after becoming a U.S. citizen , Puerto Ricans are discriminated against and treated as second-class American citizens.”

González-Colon also called on Scherr to “consider implementing a company-wide education campaign that adequately addresses the discrimination that so many Puerto Ricans have experienced — with your business and others. – to make sure it doesn’t repeat itself.”

In response to González-Colón, Scherr wrote that it was company policy that “a driver’s license from Puerto Rico, by itself, is a valid form of identification for renting a vehicle in the United States and therefore no Not treated differently. A driver’s license from any US state.”

“Since this incident occurred, we have taken a number of steps to ensure that our team is better trained on our identity policies,” Sher wrote. “This included rewriting the policy to be more clear about the status of Puerto Rico and other US territories, expanding written and verbal communication from Hertz senior leadership to our field and call center teams, and addressing the topic in person. Field huddles include adding.”

In addition to Marchand’s problems with Hertz, a Kenner police officer who responded to the incident also asked Marchand to leave. Marchand said that as he was leaving, he heard the officer say that he would “call the border authorities.”

A Kenner Police Department police spokesman said comment on body camera video of the encounter was not heard. However, it is unclear when the officer turned off the body camera after responding to the incident.

Marchand has since filed a complaint and the officer is the subject of an internal investigation.

Hertz apologized to Marchand and returned the rental car.

In one such incident last month, a Puerto Rican family was traveling from Los Angeles to Puerto Rico. Spirit Airlines flight was not allowed. Because their little boy didn’t have his passport, which he didn’t need. The family paid for a more expensive flight on JetBlue to Puerto Rico.

Ruh has apologized to the family, refunded them for the flight and provided them with future travel vouchers, the airline said.

Read González-Colón and Scherr’s letter in full below.

— David Begnaud contributed reporting.