ASHBURN, Va. — A Northern Virginia technology company will pay $38,500 to settle claims that it discriminated against it by posting a job advertisement seeking white, U.S.-born candidates for a business analyst position.
The Justice Department announced Thursday that it had reached a settlement agreement with Arthur Grand Technologies, an information technology company in Ashburn, Virginia.
The company posted the business analyst job online in March 2023, specifically looking for “Only native-born U.S. citizens (white) who are local within 60 miles of Dallas, Texas (do not share with candidates).”
“It is shameful that in the 21st century, employers continue to see employers use 'whites only' and 'US born only' job postings to exclude otherwise eligible applicants of color,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Civil Rights Organization of the Ministry of Justice. division in a statement “I share the public's outrage over Arthur Grand's abhorrent and discriminatory ban on job applicants based on citizenship, national origin, color and race.”
In the settlement agreement, the company said the advertisement was “generated by a disgruntled recruiter in India and was intended to embarrass the company,” and that it was never intended to deter non-citizens from applying for jobs.
Arthur Grand did not return calls or emails seeking comment Tuesday.
The settlement includes a $7,500 fine to settle a Justice Department investigation and $31,000 as part of a settlement with the Department of Labor to compensate individuals who filed complaints alleging they were discriminated against by the ad .
The agreement also requires Arthur Grand to train its workforce on the requirements of federal hiring and discrimination laws and to revise its employment policies.
In 2019, another Northern Virginia tech company, Cynet Systems, apologized after posting an online ad seeking “preferably white” applicants for an account executive job in Florida.
