A Black man is suing the Shinola Hotel in Detroit, Michigan after the hotel allegedly only offered him a job interview after he changed the name on his resume.
As reported by CNN, 27-year-old Dwight Jackson has filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against the hotel because he had his job application denied when he applied under his real name only to be offered an interview when he applied again under the name "John Jebrowski." He's accused the owners of the hotel of violating the Michigan Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in the state.
Jackson applied for various roles at the Shinola Hotel between January and April 2024, including a position at the hotel's reception. On his resume, he listed that he previously served as a "Front Desk Agent" at the Marriott Westin Book Cadillac and David Whitney Hotel in Detroit. He applied for the same role later on under the alias "John Jebrowski," but made next to no changes to the rest of the resume beyond the dates of employment.
"Mr. Jackson had applied for a job that he was eminently qualified for," said his attorney, Jon Marko, who noted that the Shinola Hotel offered his client multiple interviews the week he submitted the "Jebrowski" resume. "Jackson established that the Defendant’s consideration of candidates was based on the racial appearance of the applicant’s name," reads the lawsuit.
Jackson attended the job interview and revealed his identity, confronting the interviewer and accusing the hotel of not offering him an interview because his name came across as Black. "Shortly after Jackson underwent the interview process, he was informed that he was no longer a viable candidate for the position," reads the lawsuit.
Anna Stancioff, who is the senior corporate director of PR and brand communications at the hotel's operating partner, Sage Hospitality Group, said the Shinola Hotel takes the allegation "very seriously" and does not tolerate discrimination "of any kind." Marko said that it's often difficult to prove racial discrimination when it comes to cases of name bias, but Jackson's case could be different because he quite literally applied under a more traditionally white name as well as his own name.