Area developer John Wieland Homes is being taken to court as the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission pursues an investigation into the company’s hiring practices, officials said.

The EEOC is investigating a charge from a former human resources employee that human resources managers instructed her “not to hire qualified African-American sales representatives for predominantly white communities,” according to a news release issued by EEOC.

The EEOC is seeking a subpoena for documents necessary to the investigation, officials said. That’s because the company has declined to provide them to the EEOC, according to EEOC attorney Robert K. Dawkins.

“It is unusual for an employer to try to stonewall the EEOC at such an early stage in our investigation,” Dawkins said in the news release. “We are hopeful that the court will order this employer to comply with the EEOC subpoena so the truth can come out.”

A company spokesperson for John Wieland Homes declined to comment on the matter when reached Monday morning.

According to the EEOC, the complainant said she was forced to resign because she would no longer participate in the alleged scheme. The EEOC is seeking information about Wieland’s hiring policies, applications received, a list of persons hired into sales positions and other data relevant to the race claim, officials said.

The EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws prohibiting discrimination in employment based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability and retaliation.

John Wieland Homes lists 65 available properties in Fayette County on its Web site. It has developed subdivisions in Peachtree City, Fayetteville and most recently in Tyrone with the Southhampton development just off Ga. Highway 74. The company also has numerous projects underway in the metro Atlanta area and beyond.

“No employer has the right to systematically deny hiring opportunities to an entire demographic group in an effort to influence or control the racial makeup of a community,” said Bernice Williams-Kimbrough, district director for the EEOC’s Atlanta district office. “This office will vigorously investigate allegations of pattern-and-practice discrimination in the state of Georgia.”

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