The feds are suing convenience store chain Sheetz over alleged racist and discriminatory hiring practices.
The chain, which has more than 700 stores in six states, is accused of discriminating against minority job applicants.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which filed the suit in Baltimore against the Altoona, Penn.-based company, accused it of weeding out applicants who were Black, Native American and multiracial over purported failed criminal background checks.
The suit was filed Wednesday, the same day President Biden stopped at a Sheetz to buy snacks and chat with customers and employees while campaigning in western Pennsylvania.
The hiring practices disproportionately affected these minority candidates — in violation of federal civil rights law —at almost double the rate of white job seekers, the commission stated.
“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,” said EEOC attorney Debra Lawrence.
“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,” the lawyer added.
Sheetz said the lawsuit was meritless.
“Diversity and inclusion are essential parts of who we are. 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,” company spokesperson Nick Ruffner said in a statement. “We will address the claims in court when the time comes.”
The company, which is family-owned, says it has more than 23,000 employees at its convenience stores and gas stations in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina.