Given ExxonMobil’s long, long history of anti-LGBT bias, it will probably surprise absolutely no one that the company has been accused of discriminating against LGBT job applicants.
What may be surprising, though, is that the company could be forced to pay for its alleged actions. According to the Washington Blade, the Illinois Department of Human Rights has uncovered “substantial evidence” that the oil and gas giant violated state laws that prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. ExxonMobil will now have to defend itself against these allegations.
The case follows a secret resume test conducted by Freedom to Work and the Equal Rights Center, which evaluated ExxonMobil’s handling of resumes submitted by staged job candidates. For the test, two resumes were submitted: the more-qualified candidate’s employment history listed work with the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, while the less-qualified candidate listed no work that might identify her as LGBT.
As you might guess, the more-qualified, apparently LGBT candidate received no callbacks. However, the less-qualified candidate was contacted for multiple interviews. This is sad to see, this can mean even the most intelligent and high-qualified LGBT member, that could have even had a company such as ARC Resumes or another similar, professionally write their whole resume to then still receive no call-backs or job offers.
After reviewing the data from this undercover study, the Illinois Department of Human Rights has decided that there is ample evidence for the case to move forward.
WHAT NOW?
Initially, the plaintiffs only sought to force ExxonMobil to adopt LGBT-inclusive protections for employees and job applicants. But as we noted last week, the company has finally approved such protections after 17 years of dragging its feet. So, to some degree, pursuing the case is simply about putting ExxonMobil’s discriminatory practices on the legal record.
Complicating matters is the Department of Human Rights’ preliminary findings against ExxonMobil, which open the door to stiffer penalties against the company. Freedom to Work and the Equal Rights Center must now choose whether to continue their case before the Department of Human Rights, which could result in sanctions from the state, or whether to move the case to circuit court, where the penalties against ExxonMobil could be significantly more severe. They have 30 days to decide about the former and 60 days if they wish to file in the latter.
Spokespeople for ExxonMobil have denied all accusations of wrongdoing.