White Privilege Evident in the Workplace

This article discusses how almost twenty years after the US Department of Labor began auditing the racial hiring practices at Bank of America's offices in Charlotte, North Carolina, black candidates who did not receive equal opportunity in the workplace are finally receiving financial compensation. Bank of America was ordered to pay close to $2.2 million in back pay to African Americans who were denied entry level jobs at the offices in Charlotte with no reason. According to the Labor Department's Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs' (OFCCP) review for the hiring periods of 1993 and between 2002 and 2005, Bank of America unfairly rejected 1,147 African Americans for jobs. According to a spokesperson from the OFCCP, the criteria used for hiring included credit checks and evaluations of compatibility of work hours used to judge black applicants' qualifications differently than those of white candidates. By using these categories, whites are given an advantage when applying for the job without realizing it because as studies have shown credit scores are often higher for whites than blacks. As a result of using this criteria for hiring, the percentage of applicants disqualified was "significantly higher" for African Americans than for whites. By auditing Bank of America, OFCCP was enforcing the priority of "[e]liminating the attitudinal and institutional barriers to the advancement of minorities and women in corporate management positions and executive careers" (Mock 10). The final settlement from the company is based off of the amount that the victims would have received in wages if working there.

Mock, B. (2013, September 25). Bank of America ordered to pay $2.2 million for racist hiring practices. Retrieved April 11, 2016, from http://www.southernstudies.org/2013/09/bank-of-america-ordered-to-pay-22-million-for-raci.html