US IT services company fined $38,000 for ‘whites only’ job advert

A company whose job adverts sought only white US-born candidates has agreed to pay a fine of $38,500 (£30,000), the federal government has announced.

The Arthur Grand Technologies ad was “generated by a disgruntled recruiter in India and intended to embarrass the company,” the Justice Department said.

It was found to violate both federal civil rights and labor laws.

Arthur Grand will pay $7,500 in civil penalties to the U.S. Treasury as well as total compensation of $31,000 to those who filed complaints following the incident.

The Virginia-based IT services company has served federal and commercial clients since 2012, according to its website.

In March 2023, a recruiter working for its India subsidiary posted an ad for a vacant Salesforce Business and Insurance Claims Analyst position on the job search site Indeed.

In bold text, the long-term contract role includes a note: “Only natural-born (white) U.S. citizens who live within 60 miles of Dallas, Texas (do not share with applicants).”

The post lists clients as HTC Global in Michigan and Berkshire Hathaway in Nebraska.

Assistant U.S. Attorney General Kristen Clarke called the job offer “shameful” in a statement released Thursday.

“I share the public outrage over Arthur Grand’s appalling and discriminatory ban on job applicants based on their citizenship status, national origin, color and race,” he said. -she writes.

“Companies like Arthur Grand that accept federal contracts cannot have a whites-only hiring process,” added Michele Hodge, acting director of federal contract compliance at the U.S. Department of Labor, in her own statement.

As part of its settlement agreement with the two federal agencies, Arthur Grand is also required to train its employees on the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, which prohibits hiring or firing people based on their status. of citizenship and their national origin. It must also review its employment policies and submit to monitoring by the Ministry of Justice.

In a statement to CNN, the company’s CEO said he “vehemently denies any culpability or wrongdoing.”

“This unauthorized post was made by an upset employee as part of a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) from his personal email address and account,” Sheik Rahmathullah said.

“Upon discovering this, we took immediate and decisive action to ensure this type of incident does not happen again, including the immediate termination of the employee responsible.”