A black American man has filed an employment discrimination lawsuit against a hotel in Detroit, Michigan, alleging the hotel only offered him a job interview after he changed the name on his resume.

Dwight Jackson filed the lawsuit on July 3, alleging he was denied a job when he applied as “Dwight Jackson,” but later offered an interview when he changed his name to “John Jebrowski.”

The lawsuit alleges Jackson was denied a job in “violation of Michigan Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act.”

27-year-old Jackson had applied to multiple positions at the hotel between January and April 2024. On it’s website the hotel is listed as a “luxury” accommodation.

The Attorney representing Jackson noted that his client has had consistent employment, including previous roles as a “Front Desk Agent” at Detroit’s Marriott Westin Book Cadillac and David Whitney Hotel, which essentially justifies Jackson’s eminent qualification for the job position at the luxury hotel.

After getting no response to his initial job applications, in April 2024 Jackson applied again, making one significant change to his application — his name.

According to the lawsuit, Jackson applied to the Hotel “twice for similar positions under a more readily apparent Caucasian name, with the alias ‘John Jebrowski,’” using nearly identical resumes. The resumes have different dates of previous employment.

He was offered multiple interviews within the same week, the lawsuit claims.

The lawsuit also alleges that “Jackson established that the Defendant’s consideration of candidates was based on the racial appearance of the applicant’s name.”

“To be denied a job in 2024 in your hometown, for the color of your skin, goes beyond dollars and cents. It goes into the psyche of a person,” the Attorney said.

The operating partner of the hotel stated in an email, “We take this allegation very seriously and do not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We are committed to fostering an inclusive workplace where everyone has the opportunity to succeed and are dedicated to building a diverse workforce that reflects the community.”

A recent study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that name bias is a prevalent issue in the hiring process. Researchers sent out identical resumes to 108 U.S. employers to analyze whether race and gender affected callback rates for job applications. Resumes with Black male and Black female names received the fewest callbacks.

Jackson’s Attorney says his client “wants to shed light on this problem that’s not just isolated at the Shinola Hotel, not just isolated in Detroit or Michigan, but across the country. He wants to make sure that it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”