ACLU Files Charges Against Greensboro Police Department For Discrimination

The American Civil Liberties Union is accusing the City of Greensboro Police Department, among others, of discrimination. The charges focus on age and gender.

The Greensboro Police Department is one of 10 employers named in the complaint. The ACLU says they used Facebook ads targeted for men to share job opportunities. Federal, state and local civil rights laws make it illegal to discriminate based on sex in advertising, recruitment and hiring.

Included in the filing is an example of a Facebook ad from the City of Greensboro for jobs with the police department. It shows that the ad was specifically sent to reach “men ages 25 to 35.”

The ACLU includes Facebook in its complaint for “enabling, encouraging, and assisting” employers in unlawfully using sex and age as part of their ad strategy.

The City of Greensboro issued a statement Tuesday responding to the allegations, saying it's an equal opportunity employer and that it uses multiple techniques to recruit a diverse workforce.