A Pennsylvania-based convenience store chain was hit with a lawsuit by the Biden administration at the same time the president stopped by one of their locations on the campaign trail.
Sheetz is being accused of racial discrimination by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). THE EEOC claims that the company's hiring practices discriminated against minority applicants, as reported by the Associated Press.
The lawsuit was filed the same day Biden cheerfully stopped by a Pittsburgh location on Wednesday for food. Former President Trump stopped by a New York City bodega the day before.
Specifically, the EEOC argues that Sheetz's criminal background checks were discriminatory because of how its system weeded out applicants who were believed to have failed the checks. The EEOC said that this disproportionately impacted Native American, Black and multiracial jobseekers.
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Though the lawsuit does not allege that the discrimination was purposeful, it nonetheless claims that Sheetz violated the law. For example, 14.5% of Black applicants had allegedly been denied employment due to a failed background check, while fewer than 8% of white applicants were denied employment for the same reason, as reported by The Associated Press.
"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," EEOC attorney Debra M. Lawrence said in a statement to The Associated Press.
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"Even when such necessity is proven, the practice remains unlawful if there is an alternative practice available that is comparably effective in achieving the employer’s goals but causes less discriminatory effect," Lawrence added.
In a statement on Thursday, Sheetz said that it "does not tolerate discrimination of any kind."
"Diversity and inclusion are essential parts of who we are. We take these allegations seriously," spokesperson Nick Ruffner said, as reported by The Associated Press. "We have attempted to work with the EEOC for nearly eight years to find common ground and resolve this dispute."
