A U.S. technology company said a recruiter based in India was to blame for a job advertisement that stated only “white” people born in the U.S. should apply — and agreed to a federal settlement.
The Justice Department said in a statement Thursday that Arthur Grand, an information technology services firm specializing in government contracts, had agreed to pay a civil penalty of $7,500 and reform its hiring practices after it was found to have posted the discriminatory job posting.
According to the department, the March 2023 posting stated that the position “restricted eligible candidates to ‘only US Born Citizens [white] who are local within 60 miles from Dallas, TX [Don’t share with candidates].'”
“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 the statement. “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.”
Arthur Grand did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the agreement, the company said the job posting was created by a “disgruntled” recruiter in India who had sought to embarrass the firm. It denied it had authorized the posting or that it intended to dissuade non-U.S. citizens from applying.
Arthur Grand has signed a separate agreement with the Department of Labor.
The investigation was handled by the Justice Department’s Immigrant and Employee Rights division.
