By Kent Hoover | Phoenix Business Journal
If you’ve got a policy against hiring anyone with a criminal record, you better review guidelines issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The EEOC today filed lawsuits against BMW’s manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, S.C., and Dollar General, which is based in Goodlettsville, Tenn. The agency contends the companies’ policies against hiring people who have been convicted of a crime violate the Civil Rights Act because they disproportionately cost African-Americans jobs.
Several employees who had worked at BMW’s plant for years as employees of a logistics services company lost their jobs as a result of BMW’s policy. Their employer, UTi Integrated Logistics, only reviewed criminal convictions for the previous seven years. But when UTi ended its contract with BMW, its employees at the facility had to re-apply for their jobs with a new contractor. BMW ordered the new contractor to follow its criminal background policy, which has no time limit as far as criminal convictions. Several employees failed this test, and were denied jobs as a result.
If you’d like to discuss employment or health care law, contact David Weissman, dweissman@roselawgroup.com
