The Sheetz gas station chain was accused of discriminating against Blacks, Native Americans and other minorities in its personnel selection processes. The accusation comes directly from a federal government agency.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) believes that the gas station company disproportionately excludes applicants from any of these minorities mentioned above, even when members of these communities are part of protection programs to promote job opportunities.
However, the EEOC's lawsuit does not claim that the discrimination exercised by Sheetz is directly based on race but rather on criminal history.
Among the policies that the EEOC criticizes the chain for is the rejection of job applicants with criminal records. According to the lawsuit, these employment practices violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in the workplace.
The EEOC lawsuit comes after two job applicants complained that the company rejected them. This complaint makes a direct connection between having a criminal record and being one of the minorities protected by the federal government's employment policies.
According to the lawsuit's text, seen by CNN, approximately 14.5% of African-American applicants failed the test, while less than 8% of white applicants failed. Native Americans and multiracial applicants failed at around 13%.
For its part, the Sheetz chain rejected accusations of carrying out discrimination policies. "We take these allegations seriously. We have attempted to work with the EEOC for nearly eight years to find common ground and resolve this dispute. We will address the claims in Court when the time comes," Nick Ruffner, director of Sheetz PR, said in a statement.
