05-07-2019
A headhunting service in Virginia went viral for all the wrong reasons in April. Cynet Systems posted two job advertisements with hiring qualifications explicitly based on race and sex.
The first posting sought an Account Manager for a Pharma company. Under the job description, it stated: “Preferably Caucasian who has good technical background including knowledge of RPA.” The second posting was seeking an Account Manager for Sales and had under its job description “Note: Female Candidate only.” Title VII prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex and race. While there are limited circumstances where a position may be limited to gender under the Bona Fide Occupation Qualification exception, it is unlikely that a sales position would require a person to be a particular gender.
The posts were taken down quickly, followed by a tweet from the company stating,
“Cynet apologizes for the anger & frustration caused by the offensive job post. It does not reflect our core values of inclusivity & equality. The individuals involved have been terminated. We will take this as a learning experience & will continue to serve our diverse community.”
The employees responsible for the postings were fired according to Cynet. The company also noted that it employs a workforce that is 60% minority.