A spokesman for the New York State Commission For Human Rights said today that it appeared the Arabian-American Oil Company (ARAMCO) was taking steps to comply with a commission order that it stop discriminating against Jewish applicants for jobs.
The spokesman said that the grace period for compliance expires on March 15, and that the Commission had been informed that ARAMCO has changed its hiring applications and procedures. He added that it was “too early to tell” the degree of ARAMCO compliance, and added the Commission plans to keep a close watch. It has the right to go to court for enforcement if it considers ARAMCO guilty of further discrimination.
The Commission order ended a six-year legal fight by the American Jewish Congress against ARAMCO. The oil firm, representing a combine which extracts oil in Saudi Arabia, withdrew an appeal last December from a Commission order. At that time the oil firm waived any right to contest the Commission’s ruling, issued in September, that the firm had illegally questioned job applicants for its domestic offices on their religion, and had refused to hire Jews for those offices.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
