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

By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
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. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says Sheetz Inc. 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. President Joe Biden stopped by a Sheetz for snacks this week while campaigning in Pennsylvania. Sheetz is based in the state and also has stores in West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina. The privately run family-owned company says it “does not tolerate discrimination of any kind.”