The federal government penalized a company that posted a discriminatory employment advertisement seeking only white people and entered into separate agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Labor as punishment, according to officials.
Arthur Grand Technologies, a Virginia-based information technology services firm, posted a discriminatory job advertisement in March 2023 that restricted eligible candidates to “only US-born citizens [white] who are local within 60 miles of Dallas, TX [don’t share with candidates],” according to a statement released by the US Department of Justice on Thursday.
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“An investigation by OFCCP (Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs) determined that, in April 2023, Arthur Grand Technologies advertised an opening for a business analyst position with its sales and insurance claims team in Dallas on a public online hiring website,” the Justice Department stated in its statement. “The advertisement includes a bolded note that reads, ‘Only Born US Citizens [White] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [don’t share with candidates].'” The announcement indicated that the post would service two clients: HTC Global, an information technology business based in Troy, Michigan, and Berkshire Hathaway, a multinational holding corporation situated in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Department of Justice also highlighted another case alleging Arthur Grand Technologies’ discriminatory behavior.
“In May 2023, the Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) launched an investigation and determined that Arthur Grand discriminated based on citizenship status and national origin after a recruiter working for Arthur Grand’s subsidiary in India posted the advertisement on the job website Indeed,” the Department of Justice stated. Social media widely shared the advertisement, leading to multiple news articles. “Arthur Grand’s acts affected people with permission to work in the United States, including US citizens born outside the country and some non-US nationals, by illegally discouraging them from applying for the job advertisement.”
The Justice Department ordered Arthur Grand Technologies to pay a civil penalty to the United States as part of the settlement. The agreement also requires Arthur Grand to train its employees on the INA’s (Immigration and Nationality Act) requirements, revise its employment policies, and be subject to departmental monitoring in the future, according to officials.
In the conciliation agreement with the Labor Department, Arthur Grand will also compensate individuals who filed complaints with its Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP), and the company “has committed to providing workplace-specific training for all company employees involved in recruiting, selecting candidates, or tracking expressions of interest for open positions,” according to the DOJ.
“The Labor Department’s agreement resolves its determination that Arthur Grand violated Executive Order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin,” the Department of Justice stated.
“It is shameful that, in the twenty-first century, employers continue to use ‘whites only’ and ‘only US-born’ job postings to exclude otherwise qualified job candidates of color.” “I share the public’s outrage over Arthur Grand’s appalling and discriminatory ban on job applicants based on citizenship status, national origin, color, and race,” stated Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department, working with other government agencies, will continue to hold employers accountable when they violate our nation’s federal civil rights laws.”
Acting Director Michele Hodge of the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs stated, “For the past 58 years, OFCCP has protected workers and job seekers from workplace discrimination.” We are determined to hold federal contractors accountable for blatant discriminatory actions like this advertisement. Companies like Arthur Grand, which take government contracts, cannot have a ‘whites only’ hiring process.”
