Former Attorney General Eric Holder will work for Airbnb in an effort to help the online rental marketplace curtail discrimination, the company announced Wednesday.
Holder, who served under President Obama from 2009 to 2015, has “agreed to join our team to help craft a world-class anti-discrimination policy,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky wrote in a post on the company website.
The company, stated in 2008, began a review of its anti-discrimination policies last month after growing complaints that its user hosts discriminate against black renters. The service allows people renting out homes or apartments to connect with renters or travelers, who are supposed to select each other. The company has also faced the threat of litigation from users who have complained of discrimination.
“I sincerely believe that this is the greatest challenge we face as a company,” Chesky wrote in his post, promising swift, innovative action.
The company has made unconscious bias training available to its hosts, he noted, and has asked a number of experts to help it develop stronger anti-discrimination guardrails.
As Attorney General, Holder sought to expand civil rights enforcement, and to involve the Department of Justice in discrimination cases. After leaving the Obama administration, he joined the Washington law firm Covington & Burling.
