The ad was uploaded last week by Cynet Systems — headquartered in Sterling, Virginia — on multiple platforms, including LinkedIn and GlassDoor.
— Suzanne Lucas (@RealEvilHRLady) April 28, 2019
The ad was looking for an account manager for a position with an undisclosed company in Tampa, Florida. Under the job description, the ad stated, "Preferably Caucasian who has good technical background." The job ad has since been deleted, after numerous people expressed shock and dismay on social media.
— Ryan Ternier (@RyanTernier) April 28, 2019
— Exquisite Corpse (@chriscrossapple) April 30, 2019
— Sm LN (@ldn_sm) April 30, 2019
— Nirmaan Aggarwal (@desibernie) April 29, 2019
On Sunday, the company issued an apology on Twitter, stating that the individuals who posted the job description "were outside of company policy and included an inappropriate requirement in the job listing."
— Cynet Systems (@cynetsystems) April 29, 2019
— Cynet Systems (@cynetsystems) April 29, 2019
"It is a long-standing policy for our company to refuse any request to list jobs only seeking candidates of any specific ethnicity, gender or other inappropriate restrictions," the apology reassured, also adding that the individuals involved in the case "were terminated immediately for a significant violation of company policy."
"We are also looking at measures that could help us catch offensive or outside-of-policy ads before they ever go live to ensure this can't happen again," the statement adds.
Even after Cynet apologized Sunday, many Twitter users still expressed skepticism towards the company's policies, as employment discrimination based on race, age, gender, religion or national origin is illegal.
— Chris Ebert (@realchrisebert) April 29, 2019
— (((Joe McReynolds))) (@McReynoldsJoe) April 29, 2019