St. Louis Job Applicants Rejected For 'Ghetto' Names, Emails Say

ST. LOUIS, MO — Multiple job seekers in St. Louis are taking to social media after they say a company refused to hire them because of their "ghetto" names. Hermeisha Robinson posted an email from Mantality Health in Chesterfield to Facebook Monday.

"Thank you for your interest in careers at Mantality Health," the email reads. "Unfortunately, we do not consider candidates that have suggestive 'ghetto' names. We wish the best in your career search."

The email is signed Jordan Kimler, a nurse practitioner with the medical company.

Robinson said she is well-qualified for the job and that her feelings were hurt by the reply. "I would like for everyone to share this post because discrimination has to stop!" she wrote.

Another woman posted a similar account later on Monday, with screenshots of the same email message.

"I applied for a job with Mantality Health Medical Clinic and later received this email," wrote Quinntellia Fields. "2018 and times still haven't changed."

A third woman, Dorneshia Zachery, also received the email rejection, News 4 reports.

Mantality Health confirmed that around 20 job applicants received the message, claiming that their Indeed account was hacked by a former employee.

The company's owner, Kevin Meuret, told the Post-Dispatch that he has filed police reports with the Chesterfield Police Department and St. Louis County Police's cybercrimes unit. He blamed a disgruntled former employee.

This is not a reflection of who we are as a company," Meuret said. "This is deplorable." (For more local coverage, subscribe to Patch for daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. You can also download the free Patch app for iPhone and Android.)

Police are investigating, but say it may be hard to track down someone who knew the password. Indeed said in a statement that, as of now, there is no evidence Mantality Health's account was compromised.

"Account holders are responsible for use of their password and we recommend frequent updates and complete confidentiality of your password," the job networking site said.

Photo by Andriy Popov/Shutterstock