A Virginia tech firm has agreed to pay more than $38,000 in penalties for posting a job advertisement that only sought white, US-born applicants.
“Only Born US Citizens [White]”
IT services firm Arthur Grand Technologies was scrutinized for a job advertisement requesting only white candidates apply.
The company posted a job advertisement for a Business Analyst on Indeed. However, the now-deleted ad included a note stating: “Only Born US Citizens [White] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [Don’t share with candidates].
The client was listed as IT services company HTC Global and Warren Buffet’s multinational conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway.
The advertisement was then deleted, and the company released a LinkedIn statement claiming it was a former employee who took the posting and added the discriminatory language. This, too, was later deleted.
“Arthur Grand is a minority-owned company that has been offering IT and staffing services since 2012, and we pride ourselves on the diversity of our staff and leadership,” the post read.
A Pay Up Of More Than $38,000
Within two months of the incident, the US Justice Department’s civil rights division opened an investigation into Arthur Grand, claiming they violated the Immigration and Nationality Act by posting the discriminatory job advert.
“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,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.
“I share the public’s outrage at Arthur Grand’s appalling and discriminatory ban on job candidates based on citizenship status, national origin, color, and race.”
The company has now agreed to pay the US treasury a $7,500 civil penalty and $31,000 to people who filed discrimination complaints with the federal Labor Department over the job ad.
The company must also train its workers on the Immigration and Nationality Act, which prohibits discrimination based on citizenship status and national origin in hiring, firing, or recruiting prospective employees.
The company additionally said it would revise its employment policies while subjecting itself to monitoring by the justice department.
Despite the financial penalties that Arthur Grand has accepted, CEO Sheik Rahmathullah told CNN that his company “vehemently denies any guilt or wrongdoing in relation to the discriminatory job posting.”
Image Credit: NBC News
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