A St. Louis woman is second-guessing herself after alleged hackers wrote a disparaging rejection letter calling her "ghetto" while posing as a hiring manager for a prospective job.
Hermeisha Robinson said she was denied a job based on her name alone, the New York Post reports. When the Missouri woman received a rejection letter from Mantality Health on Monday, August 13, she was shocked by the explanation given for denying her the position she requested.
“Thank you for your interest in careers at Mantality Health,” the note to Robinson read. “Unfortunately, we do not consider candidates that have suggestive ‘ghetto’ names. We wish you the best in your career search.”
So, she took to Facebook and shared the incendiary letter claiming her name was "ghetto" and unfit for prospective employees.
“I have a public service announcement,” Robinson wrote. “I am very upset because today I received an email about this job that I applied for as a customer service representative at Mantality Health … I know I’m well-qualified for the position as they [see] on my resume!”
The note, although short, hurt her feelings and made her lose confidence in herself and her name.
“They discriminated against me because of my name which they considered it to be ‘ghetto’ for their company! My feelings are very hurt, and they even got me second guessing my name trying to figure out if my name is really that ‘ghetto.’”
On the surface, this rejection letter seemed like another case of a racist taking swipes at a black person, but new details are challenging this. Kevin Meuret, the owner of the clinic, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch a hacker hacked the clinic's email. Meuret claims the hacker responsible may be a disgruntled former employee who now lives outside of the state.
“I’m a father of three daughters, and that young lady getting that [response] is horrible,” Meuret told the newspaper. “That young lady opened something that must have felt like a freight train, and that’s unacceptable.”
Robinson wasn't alone. There were at least 20 others who received similar emails. Meuret has informed local authorities about the incident and has filed reports with St. Louis County and Chesterfield.
For Robinson, the job search continues. She said she has no interest in the company if they chose to employ her because she doesn't feel safe.
“If some hacker got my email to reach me, they have my Social Security number, my birthday; they have everything, she told the Post-Dispatch. "It just wouldn’t be a good working environment.”