A Black man has filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against a hotel in Detroit, Michigan, alleging the hotel only offered him a job interview after he changed the name on his resume, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by CNN.

Dwight Jackson filed the lawsuit against the Shinola Hotel on July 3, alleging he was denied a job when he applied as “Dwight Jackson,” but later offered an interview when he changed his name to “John Jebrowski.”

The lawsuit alleges Jackson was denied a job in “violation of Michigan Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act.”

  • shalafi@lemmy.world
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    5 months ago

    Middle-aged white guy here. First and last names, total white bread. Middle name? Black. Think “Tyrone” or “Trevon”. (LOL, Trevon shows a spell check error on one of the top 20 black male names.)

    Couldn’t get a response on my resume for 6-weeks, nada. Changed the email to take out my middle name. Next week, 3 interviews and a solid job.

    Had a black neighbor with a valley girl accent show up to an interview. 8 white girls waiting for their interviews. They showed her the door and said there was a mistake, no openings. She eventually got hired since her preacher was a top dog at the place.

    • morphballganon@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      8 white girls waiting for their interviews. They showed her the door and said there was a mistake, no openings.

      This is baffling. She could clearly see the other girls, yeah? All applying for the same position?

      How do you dismiss one candidate in front of others, and say there are no openings? I don’t get it.

      • Seleni@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        They just didn’t finish the sentence. ‘There are no openings for someone of your heritage.’

      • shalafi@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Well maybe she misread the room? 🤔

        Arrives for the interview and there are 8 white girls, in scrubs, in the waiting room. Also, the person who was to take her in the back for the interview was visibly shocked.

        My wife is a Filipino and I’m shocked at what she’s encountered in interviews.

        “Are you Mexican or Asian?” Visible disgust at Asian.

        “Are you a Christian? Oh. A Catholic. You have to attend our church every Sunday or we won’t hire you.”

        Bonus points: Her first name is sorta black sounding. Told her to work around that somehow. Because I had to.

        https://old.lemmy.world/comment/11105265

    • Jumpingspiderman@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      I have a Latin surname. I am sure it’s cost me in some circles. But in others it’s an advantage. At least for me I think it kind of evens out.

      • Ilovemyirishtemper@lemmy.world
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        5 months ago

        Yeah, me too. I’m a white woman with an Asian last name and a gender neutral first name. Honestly, I think my gender neutral first name opens more doors for me than the Asian last name closes.

    • intensely_human@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      LOL, Trevon shows a spell check error on one of the top 20 black male names

      My autocorrect replaces “human” with “juman”! wtf