EEOC says convenience store unlawfully uses criminal history to deny jobs
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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission said in a discrimination lawsuit filed Wednesday that convenience store Sheetz Inc. and its related entities wrongfully deny employment to Black, American Indian, Alaska Native and multiracial applicants based on their criminal justice histories.
The agency’s suit, filed in federal court in Baltimore, accuses Sheetz Inc., Sheetz Distribution Services LLC and CLI Transportation LP of engaging in discriminatory conduct since August 2015.
Prior to offering an applicant a job, Sheetz uses a third-party vendor to conduct a screening for a criminal record. If an applicant has a criminal record, there is no procedure for review or appealing the findings of the screening, the complaint says.
An applicant filed a charge with the EEOC in May 2022, prompting the agency to investigate Sheetz’s hiring practices. The parties were unable to reach a settlement agreement before the EEOC filed suit.
Sheetz and its affiliates have more than 20,000 employees and operate roughly 700 locations in Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia, as well as distribution and other facilities, court records show.
Representatives for the parties did not respond to requests for comment.
