Convenience store chain with hundreds of outlets in 6 states hit with discrimination lawsuit

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

April 19, 2024, 12:59 PM EDT / Source: The Associated Press


The Sheetz convenience store chain has been hit with a lawsuit by federal officials who allege the company discriminated against minority job applicants.

Sheetz Inc., which operates more than 700 stores in six states, discriminated against Black, Native American and multiracial job seekers by automatically weeding out applicants whom the company deemed to have failed a criminal background check, according to U.S. officials.

President Joe Biden stopped by a Sheetz for snacks this week while campaigning in Pennsylvania.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed suit in Baltimore against Altoona, Pennsylvania-based Sheetz and two subsidary companies, alleging the chain’s longstanding hiring practices have a disproportionate impact on minority applicants and thus run afoul of federal civil rights law. Sheetz said Thursday that it “does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.”

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/nbcblk/sheetz-convenience-store-chain-discrimination-lawsuit-eeoc-rcna148567

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Honestly, I had never heard of this chain because there really aren't any on the eastern side of PA. I think the closest one to Philly is like 40 - 50 miles away. The first time I had heard of it was when John Fetterman was running for Senate and started a playful "Sheetz vs Wawa" competition (Wawa being the predominant "local" convenience chain here in SE PA and Sheetz being what he was used to over in Western PA).

[cstanleytech]

1. I guess the Sheetz about to hit the fan.

[Diamond_Dog]

2. NE Ohio here, we have Sheetz everywhere.

Gas/convenience store/fast food.
I had never heard of Wawa until a relative from Delaware mentioned them!

[BumRushDaShow]

3. It's the...

[ancianita]

5. I'm kinda okay with WaWa. They contribute huge amounts of 'by sell date' food to our

church's huge food pantry operation down here in Florida. I hear they're family owned. Interesting.

Never heard of Sheetz, though. Glad they got nailed.

[BumRushDaShow]

13. It was named for a town here in PA

that had (and still has) a big dairy presence since the 1800s.

They have been recently sponsoring the July 4th celebrations here in Philly - https://july4thphilly.com/

[ancianita]

15. Nice!

[JoseBalow]

4. "Sheetz"

[mwooldri]

16. Company afaik is named after its owners.

Bob Sheetz is the founder, company is family owned.

Dunno what it is with gas stations. Often named after their owners. Love's truck stops named by Tom and Judy Love.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Not That Unusual, Id Say

US Steel was Carnegie Sttel, General Electric was Edison Electric, DuPont is still DuPont, Ford is still Ford, Kroger is still Kroger....
It's not just gas stations.

[Westcoast4life]

6. I'm glad theres no Sheetz in N'Cal. They just closed the only Craker Barrel in Sacramento and im still lol'ing.

Their food and service was really bad according to Yelp.

[FakeNoose]

7. They are all over western PA, it's a good company as far as I've seen

I buy gas at Sheetz, use their carwash and I love their great coffee. Also they have sandwiches, smoothies and other fast food made to order. Most of the Sheetz locations I've visited had minority employees working, so I'm really puzzled by this discrimination lawsuit.

[appalachiablue]

9. Good post, tx. I've used S. once, in Del. or eastern Md. for gas only.

They aren't prevalent in my area so I'm not familiar with their operations or staff. But I don't like hearing about discrimination practices in hiring.

[Drum]

10. I've been to several. Have seen diversity in hires.

[Demsrule86]

8. Sheetz is in Ohio. My daughter love it...I hate it. I got sick off of their food once.

[cloudbase]

11. I don't see the EEOC suit being successful.

The discrimination is related to past criminal conviction, and as far as I know, that doesn't make a person a member of a protected class.

[Oopsie Daisy]

12. I dislike Sheetz. If there's a WaWa nearby, I'll choose that instead.

I'm not "boycotting" Sheetz... they're just not my favorite. They seem to attract MAGA folks in great numbers. Probably because of their cigarette and tobacco prices. I can only imagine that they're losing money or selling them at wholesale prices as a loss leader, just to get people inside.

[melm00se]

14. Criminal background checks

A company cannot use failing a criminal background check as the reason not to hire someone. The business must individually assess convictions as they directly relate to your jobs before deciding not to hire an applicant based on his or her criminal record.

If someone has been convicted of embezzlement, a cash handling role at a bank, the bank might say the crime makes you unqualified for the job but the same cannot be said for a job, say, doing manual labor for a landscaping company.

[azureblue]

18. the chain is all around

the Carolina area - they are a combination gas station, snack bar, and convenience store. According to what I have heard, they are very strict about who they accept to work there, so I'm not surprised they reject people with a criminal record of any sort. But I have gotten gas there and seen "minorities" working there. Especially bilinguals..

They hire stockers, cash register people, some food prep people, and people to handle the fuel pumps. They also sell lottery tickets, and the states' lottery commission is very strict about who they allow to sell lottery tickets, so I think that hiring people with records would be a big no no here..

So, at least from personal experience, I am not sure there is a case against them.

[gfwzig]

19. SHEETZ IS BASED IN THE REDDEST PART OF PENNSYLVANIA WHAT CARVILLE CALLED ALABAMA

Sheetz is a terrible company they control the gas prices and artificially have .15/gal higher than should be,, price is even higher than on the PA turnpike that was always the highest price in Pa. they also besides being racist are one of the big republican donors Remember Bud Shyster the most anti union congressman that Pa ever had.

[twodogsbarking]

20. Many in the area call it "Sheetzes". I sheet you not.