(Matthew Doarnberger, Headline USA) The Biden Justice Department now claims it is racist for a businesses to screen out criminals as part of their hiring process—and is actively harassing those who do with civil rights-based lawfare attacks.
The Sheetz convenience store was hit recently with a federal lawsuit as a result of using criminal background checks in their hiring processes, NBC News reported.
In its complaint, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said this kind of hiring criteria has a disproportionate impact on minority applicants and, thus, violates federal civil rights law.
The agency used Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits workplace discrimination on the basis of race, sex, religion and national origin.
It said black applicants were denied employment at a rate of 14.5% for failing the criminal-history screening. Multiracial applicants in this category were denied at a 13.5% rate, while Native American applicant rejections stood at 13%.
In contrast, fewer than 8% of white job-seekers were turned down for employment as a result of failing the background check.
The EEOC does not claim that racial motivations were influencing Sheetz’s hiring processes. However, attorney Debra M. Lawrence said in a statement that the results of the policy can still be used as a basis for the lawsuit.
“Federal law mandates that employment practices causing a disparate impact because of race or other protected classifications must be shown by the employer to be necessary to ensure the safe and efficient performance of the particular jobs at issue,” she said.
Sheetz asserted last week that it “does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.” In addition, company spokesperson Nick Ruffner touted the store’s record on diversity and its willingness to work with federal anti-discrimination agencies.
“Diversity and inclusion are essential parts of who we are,” Ruffner said.
“We take these allegations seriously,” he added. “We have attempted to work with the EEOC for nearly eight years to find common ground and resolve this dispute.”
Sheetz is a privately held, family-run company with over 700 stores and more than 23,000 employees. It is are headquartered in Altoona, Pa., and has locations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina.
Despite the controversy, President Joe Biden still made time to stop off at a Sheetz station for snacks while campaigning in Pennsylvania.
