Hospitality group slams lawsuit from a Black man who says he got an interview only after applying with a ‘Caucasian name’

By Nia Mclean, CNN

(CNN) — The hospitality group at the center of an employment discrimination lawsuit against the Shinola Hotel in Detroit called allegations that a Black man received an interview only after he used a “Caucasian name” on his resume “baseless.”

In a statement shared with CNN on Wednesday, Daniel del Olmo, president of Sage Hospitality Group, touted the company’s record of hiring diverse candidates and said there were “significant inconsistences” in the lawsuit filed against the hotel that his company operates.

“While we cannot disclose further details as it relates to this specific matter, we want to assure you, our team members and our community, that discrimination of any kind will never be tolerated,” he said.

Earlier this month, Dwight Jackson, a hospitality worker who lives in Detroit, filed a lawsuit against the hotel alleging he was denied interviews for a job opportunity until he applied “under a more readily apparent Caucasian name, with the alias ‘John Jebrowski,’ according to the lawsuit.

But del Olmo noted Wednesday that “of the four roles for which the plaintiff applied, three of them were filled by Black applicants. Both of the positions the plaintiff applied for using the false name ‘John Jebrowski’ were filled by Black people.”

“It is important to note that all of these positions were filled prior to this lawsuit,” he said.

CNN has reached out to Jackson’s attorney for comment.

According to del Olmo, Sage Hospitality began operating the Shinola Hotel in November 2023 and since then “more than 78% of new hires self-identify as people of color, with 66% identifying as Black or African American.”

In an interview with CNN’s Victor Blackwell on Saturday, Jackson said since going public with his lawsuit, people have told him it was “a great experiment.”

“I wasn’t experimenting or purposely trying to catch them. I was just looking for a job,” he said.

But Jackson said finally landing an interview under the alias “John Jebrowski” made him feel “worthless.”

“Welcome to America, where people of our color have to work literally five times as hard to get to the same entry-level doors as many other cultures,” he said.

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