Criminal Background Checks

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A magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon recently made findings and recommendations to dismiss a purported class action against Kroger subsidiary Fred Meyer.  The suit alleges that the retailer’s background check process for prospective employees violates the Fair Credit Reporting Act by both failing to properly disclose that a report will be run, and failing to comply with the statute’s procedural requirements before taking adverse action against an applicant.

Continue Reading The Spokeo Chronicles: Another Tentative Background Check Win for Kroger Subsidiary

In a time when workplace violence seems to be on the rise, many companies have adopted a strict no tolerance policy even for conduct outside the workplace.  In California, however, employers need to be cognizant of the protections afforded individuals that may make such terminations riskier than the company may expect.  One employer got just such a reminder last week when a California jury returned an $18M verdict against it for terminating an employee after he was arrested for threatening his girlfriend outside of the workplace.

Continue Reading Terminating an Employee Arrested for Off-Duty Conduct Could Run Afoul of California Law

On April 3, 2018, San Francisco amended its Fair Chance Ordinance, the city and county’s so-called “ban-the-box” legislation that limits how private employers can use an applicant’s criminal history in employment decisions.  The amendments, which take effect on October 1, 2018, expand the scope and penalties of the San Francisco ordinance and add to the growing framework of ban-the-box legislation across California.  The complete text of the amendment can be found here.

Continue Reading San Francisco Sharpens the Teeth of its “Ban-the-Box” Ordinance and Adds to California’s Growing Ban-the-Box Framework

Date: Thursday, November 16, 2017
Time: 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM PST

Please join Hunton & Williams LLP for a complimentary webinar that will address current concerns faced by employers in California. This program, co-sponsored by Welch Consulting, will examine the following issues:

  • Fair Pay issues
  • Recent PAGA concerns
  • “Ban the Box” and background checks
  • Sick leave
  • Changing local and regional ordinances
  • Sexual harassment

We will also discuss ways to address potential risks proactively, including the use of statistical analyses to avoid future litigation.

We hope you can join us for what should be a very interesting and educational program.

Speakers:

Roland Juarez, Partner, Hunton & Williams LLP
Hyowook Chiang, Senior Economist, Welch Consulting

Register by clicking here.

Questions? Contact Visalaya Hirunpidok at vhirunpidok@hunton.com or 213.532.2003.

 

The New York City Commission on Human Rights recently amended its rules to establish certain definitions and procedures applying the Fair Chance Act.  The Act makes it unlawful to discriminate against job applicants and employees on the basis of criminal history, and is particularly important for employers for two reasons: (1) it applies not only to criminal background checks performed by third-party vendors but also to checks performed entirely by the company, and (2) out-of-state non-employers may be held liable for aiding and abetting violations of the Act.  For more on this latter point, read our prior post on the New York Court of Appeals opinion in Griffin v. Sirva, Inc.

Continue Reading N.Y.C. Commission on Human Rights Issues New Rules Applying the Fair Chance Act

At the request of the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the New York Court of Appeals recently answered several questions regarding liability under the New York Human Rights Law Section 296(15)—which prohibits denying employment on the basis of criminal convictions when doing so violates New York Correction Law Article 23-A—and Section 296(6)—which prohibits aiding and abetting such discrimination.

Continue Reading New York Court Clarifies Who Can Be Liable For Discrimination On The Basis Of Criminal Convictions

On January 22, 2017, the City of Los Angeles ‘banned the box’ when the Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring (Ban the Box) (the “Initiative”) went into effect, prohibiting private employers in Los Angeles “from inquiring into or seeking a job applicant’s criminal history unless and until a conditional offer of employment” is made to the individual. In doing so, Los Angeles becomes the fourth California city to ‘ban the box’ with greater protections than the state statute, and the second to do so with respect to private employers. If an employer makes a conditional offer of employment and then receives information about an applicant’s criminal history, the employer cannot take an adverse employment action against the applicant based on that history until (1) a written assessment has taken place and (2) a Fair Chance Process has occurred.

Continue Reading

Retailer Big Lots Stores, Inc. is facing a putative class action in Philadelphia, wherein the plaintiff alleges that the company “systematically” violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act’s (“FCRA”) “standalone disclosure requirement” by making prospective employees sign a document used as a background check consent form that contained extraneous information. Among other things, the plaintiff alleges that Big Lots’ form violates the FCRA because it includes the following three categories of extraneous information: (1) an “implied liability waiver” (specifically, a statement that the applicant “fully understand[s] that all employment decisions are based on legitimate nondiscriminatory reasons”); (2) state-specific notices; and (3) information on how background information will be gathered and from which sources, statements pertaining to disputing any information, and the name and contact information of the consumer reporting agency.

Continue Reading Employers Should Review Their FCRA Disclosure Forms