A U.S. District Court judge has ordered John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods to comply with an investigation into its recruitment and hiring policies and practices by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The EEOC filed the court petition in June after the company declined to cooperate with a subpoena for 19 categories of information from the company, according to the EEOC. The commission is investigating a charge from a former employee who alleged that African American sales agents were subjected to discriminatory hiring and assignment practices.

The employee also alleged that she was forced to resign because she would not comply with the practice.

The EEOC has also asked for information about Wieland’s compensation and assignment policies and practices for sales agents, the commission said in a news release.

Wieland is active in the metro Atlanta area and has developed subdivisions all over Fayette County.

“This information is needed to make a fair determination regarding the allegations contained in the former employee’s EEOC charge,” said Bernice Williams-Kimbrough, the District Director of the EEOC’s Atlanta District Office. “It will also assist the agency in resolving any possible jurisdictional issues.”

The court order also allows the EEOC to obtain organizational charts and information for Wieland’s operations in the five Southeastern states where it operates, as well as the identity of its housing communities in those five states, including Georgia.

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing the nation’s laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on race, color, gender (including sexual harassment and pregnancy), religion, national origin, age, disability and retaliation.