A tech company in Virginia has settled with the U.S. Department of Justice after being called out for posting a “whites only” job description.
Arthur Grand Technologies Inc.—a minority-owned firm —has been fined a civil penalty of $7,500 by the DOJ’s Justice and Labor departments. The federal contractor was also ordered to pay $31,000 in total to the 31 people who complained about the 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,” said Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Kristen Clarke.
An ad for a Dallas-based salesforce business analyst and insurance claims position based was posted by the company in March 2023.
The posting 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 NPR, the business analyst position “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 posting went viral, sparking outrage on social media. The Department of Justice opened an investigation and found it violated the Immigration and Nationality Act, an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating based on race, national origin, and other protected characteristics.
Labor Department officials also found the company failed to keep records tracking demographic characteristics of job applicants, including gender, race or ethnicity. The company also failed to post a notice of workers’ equal employment opportunity rights in open places.
Arthur Grand CEO Sheik Rahmathullah denied “any guilt or wrongdoing” in a statement to NRP and placing the blame on a rogue employee.
“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,” Rahmathullah said. “We sincerely apologize for any harm caused by this incident and are committed to making meaningful changes to maintain the trust and confidence of our community and stakeholders,” the statement continued.
Arthur Grand is certified as a Small Disadvantaged Business on the federal contractor’s roster. For status qualification, a majority of the company must be owned by “one or more disadvantaged persons,” who must also be “socially disadvantaged and economically disadvantaged.”
“We take pride in the fact that all the senior leadership positions in our company are held by persons of color, and over 80% of our staff are also people of color,” Rahmathullah told NPR.
In the agreement with the Labor Department, the company is required to send a letter to those who complained about the post, stating if they want to take part in the agreement, a document must be signed that reads in part, “I understand that AGT denies that it treated me unlawfully or unfairly in any way.”
By signing the document and receiving payment, complainants also agree not to file a lawsuit against the company. The company will be monitored in order to guarantee compliance with anti-discrimination laws. It is also required to train employees on the Immigration and Nationality Act’s requirements and revise its employment policies.
