A Virginia-based tech company is being ordered to pay $38,500 for posting a “whites only” job advertisement.
According to The Hill, in March 2023, minority-owned federal contractor Arthur Grand Technologies Inc. advertised a Salesforce Business Analyst and Insurance Claims position based in Dallas, Texas. Reportedly, the posting restricted candidates to “only US born citizens [white] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [Don’t share with candidates].”
The job posting “drew outrage” on social media, causing the Department of Justice to open up an investigation into the company. When interrogated, the company claimed the posting was done by an employee working for its subsidiary in India. Per The Hill, the company insisted it “denied approving” the posting.
The Justice and Labor departments have fined the company a civil penalty of $7,500 and also ordered the company to pay $31,000 overall to 31 people who complained about its posting.
“It is shameful that in the 21st century, we continue to see employers using ‘whites only’ and only US born’ job postings to lock out otherwise eligible job candidates of color,” Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said in a statement.
According to The Hill, the Justice and Labor departments said Arthur Grand’s actions “harmed individuals” who are non-U.S. citizens but have a U.S. work permit and U.S. citizens born outside of the U.S.
According to the DOJ, the listing violated the Immigration and Nationality Act; and according to the Labor Department, the company violated an order “barring” federal contractors from discrimination based on race, nationality, and other “protected” characteristics.
“We are committed to holding federal contractors accountable for outrageous discriminatory practices like this advertisement,” Michele Hodge, acting director of the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), said.
Hodge also said Arthur Grand can not have a “whites only” hiring process especially because the company accepts federal contracts.
Besides having to pay its fines, the company will be monitored by the departments to ensure they are following anti-discrimination laws. It will also have to “revise” employment policies and train all its employees on the Immigration and Nationality Act’s requirements.