A man originally from the Middle East applied for a position with a publishing company.
He received a phone message from the company indicating they had an interest in scheduling an interview in person. When he called back, a phone interview was conducted. Near the beginning of the call he was asked about his accent and where he was from. He identified his ethnicity. The interview continued, including a discussion on salary negotiations, but no in-person interview was set up. When he called back he was told that he negotiated too much on the salary issue and that, “they were not selling camels here.” He was told that the company had hired someone else and hung up the phone.
The company agreed to anti-discrimination training and materials with a focus on hiring to be provided to the directors, including the person who had conducted the interview. Anti-discrimination training was to be provided to all managerial and supervisory staff thereafter, with written confirmation that training has been completed with a synopsis of areas covered and materials provided.