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A Virginia-based tech company has settled with the Department of Justice and Labor over a job posting that requested only white candidates born in the U.S. apply.
According to The Hill, the Justice and Labor departments handed down a fine of $7,500 to federal contractor Arthur Grand Technologies Inc. The company was also ordered to pay $31,000 to 31 people who complained about the "whites-only" job 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.
In a 2023 job posting for a Salesforce business analyst and insurance claims position, Arthur Grand Technologies required its candidates to be “only US Born Citizens [white] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [Don’t share with candidates].”
Amid widespread backlash on social media, the Justice Department opened an investigation into the job posting. The company denied wrongdoing, saying it didn't approve the posting and claiming it was shared by an employee who worked for its subsidiary in India.
The DOJ said the listing was in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act while the Labor Department said the company violated an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating based on race, national origin, 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, said in a statement. “Companies like Arthur Grand, that accept federal contracts cannot have a ‘whites only’ hiring process.”
Arthur Grand has also been ordered to train its employees on the Immigration and Nationality Act’s requirements and to revise employment policies.
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