Company that posted discriminatory ‘whites only’ job ad settles with federal government

(NEW YORK) — A company that posted a discriminatory job advertisement seeking only white candidates has been fined by the federal government and come to separate agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Labor as punishment, according to officials.

Arthur Grand Technologies, an information technology services firm based in Virginia, posted a discriminatory job advertisement in March 2023 that restricted eligible candidates to “only US Born Citizens [white] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [Don’t share with candidates],” according to a statement from the United States Department of Justice released on Thursday.

“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 Department of Justice said in their statement. “The advertisement includes a bolded note that read ‘Only Born US Citizens [White] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [Don’t share with candidates].’ The position, the announcement stated, would serve two clients, HTC Global an information technology company based in Troy, Michigan, and Berkshire Hathaway, the multinational holding company based in Omaha, Nebraska.”

The Department of Justice also cited a separate case alleging another incident of discriminatory practices by Arthur Grand Technologies.

“In May 2023, the Civil Rights Division’s Immigrant and Employee Rights Section (IER) opened 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 DOJ said. “The advertisement was widely circulated on social media and generated several news articles. Arthur Grand’s actions harmed individuals with permission to work in the U.S., including U.S. citizens born outside the United States and certain non-U.S. citizens, by unlawfully deterring them from applying to the job advertisement.”

As part of the Justice Department settlement with Arthur Grand Technologies, the IT company has been ordered to pay a civil penalty to the United States, and the agreement also requires Arthur Grand to train its personnel on the INA’s (Immigration and Nationality Act) requirements, revise its employment policies and will be subject to departmental monitoring going forward, officials said.

In the conciliation agreement with the Labor Department, Arthur Grand will also pay compensation to 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,” the DOJ said.

“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 DOJ said.

“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. 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,” said 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.”

Said Acting Director Michele Hodge of the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs: “Over the past 58 years, OFCCP has protected workers and job seekers from workplace discrimination. We are committed to holding federal contractors accountable for outrageous discriminatory practices like this advertisement. Companies like Arthur Grand, that accept federal contracts cannot have a ‘whites only’ hiring process.”