US Fines Company $38,000 for ‘Whites Only’ Job Posting
A company that posted a job advertisement seeking only white, US-born applicants has agreed to pay a $38,500 fine, the federal government announced.
The advert from Arthur Grand Technologies was “generated by a disgruntled recruiter in India and was intended to embarrass the company,” according to the Justice Department. It was found to violate federal civil rights and labor laws.
Arthur Grand Technologies will pay $7,500 in civil penalties to the US Treasury and $31,000 in total compensation to individuals who filed complaints over the incident.
The Virginia-based IT services firm, which has served federal and commercial clients since 2012, was implicated in the incident when a recruiter working for its Indian subsidiary posted an advert in March 2023. The job posting, listed on Indeed, was for a Salesforce business analyst and insurance claims position.
The posting, written in bold text, specified: “Only Born US Citizens [White] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [Don’t share with candidates]”. The job listed clients such as HTC Global in Michigan and Berkshire Hathaway in Nebraska.
US Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke condemned the job posting as “shameful” in a statement on Thursday. “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,” she said.
Michele Hodge, the US Labor Department’s Acting Director of Federal Contract Compliance, added, “Companies like Arthur Grand, that accept federal contracts, cannot have a ‘whites only’ hiring process.”
As part of the settlement agreement with federal agencies, Arthur Grand is required to train its employees on the US Immigration and Nationality Act, which prohibits hiring or firing individuals based on their citizenship status and national origin. The company must also revise its employment policies and undergo monitoring by the Justice Department.
In a statement to CNN, CEO Sheik Rahmathullah vehemently denied any wrongdoing. “This unauthorized posting was made by an upset employee on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) from their personal email address and account,” Rahmathullah said. “Upon discovering this, we took immediate and decisive action to ensure that this type of incident will never happen again, including the immediate termination of the responsible employee.”
