'Disparate impact' | Sheetz accused of rampant discrimination against Indigenous and Black candidates

Maryland-based Sheetz locations have come under fire as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleges that the company has disproportionately screened out American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, and multiracial applicants during the hiring process.

According to a complaint filed by the agency on April 17, the company maintained a “longstanding practice” of screening out candidates due to prior involvement with the justice system, “including but not limited to convictions.”

The conduct, according to the EEOC, violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment practices that cause a discriminatory impact because of race when those practices are not job-related and consistent with business necessity, or when alternative practices with less discriminatory impact are available.

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The lawsuit alleged that Black candidates experienced a "significant disparate impact" from the employer’s criminal justice history probe, as, per the EEOC, they comprised a "disproportionately high number of the total number of job applicants whom Defendants have refused to hire."