Oracle’s College-Recruiting Bias Case Highlights Risks

Corporate recruiting and college campuses are such a natural combination, what could possibly go wrong? A number of workers—and the federal government—say some employers use it as a way to exclude minorities and older people.

Oracle Corp. is being sued by the Labor Department’s contractor watchdog, which alleges that the tech giant discriminated against minorities when hiring recent college and university graduates.

Hewlett Packard and PricewaterhouseCoopers face similar claims, related to possible age bias over their recruiting practices, brought by private parties.

Recruiting on college campuses is perfectly legal, if done correctly, according to management and plaintiffs’ attorneys. But as ...