The US Departments of Justice and Labor announced May 23 that they’ve secured separate agreements with Ashburn, Virginia-based IT staffing firm Arthur Grand Technologies over a discriminatory job posting seeking only white candidates.
According to the Justice Department, a recruiter working for Arthur Grand’s subsidiary in India posted a job advertisement in April 2023 on the job website Indeed for a business analyst position with the company’s sales and insurance claims team in Dallas. The posting included a bolded note stating, “Only Born US Citizens [White] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [Don’t share with candidates].”
The position was intended to serve two clients: HTC Global, an information technology company based in Troy, Michigan; and Berkshire Hathaway, a multinational holding company based in Omaha, Nebraska.
The listing violated the Immigration and Nationality Act’s executive order 11246, which prohibits federal contractors from discriminating in employment based on race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.
“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,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a press release. “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.”
The company earlier denied approving the ad and said it had been placed by a disgruntled worker looking to embarrass the company, CBS News reported.
Under the Justice Department’s settlement, Arthur Grand will pay the US Treasury $7,500 in civil penalties, train its personnel on the INA’s requirements, revise its employment policies and be subject to departmental monitoring. Under the Labor Department’s conciliation agreement, the company will pay $31,000 to compensate those who filed complaints with its Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs.
Additionally, Arthur Grand will provide training for all company employees involved in recruiting, selecting candidates or tracking expressions of interest for open positions.
SIA has reached out to Arthur Grand for comment.