NAACP suit against Class of Employers Discriminating Due to Conviction Status
News & Announcements
Plaintiffs Attorney Says SEPTA Hiring Decision Affects Civil and Privacy Rights, Goes Against State Edicts
The use of background checks in making hiring decisions is facing increased scrutiny, according to the lead plaintiffs’ attorney in Long v. the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA). The plaintiffs in the Long case alleged that they were conditionally offered positions as SEPTA bus operators, subject to completion of a background check. As part of that process, the plaintiffs disclosed previous felony convictions for drug offenses. As a result, the plaintiffs claim, SEPTA withdrew the job offers. In the class action lawsuit filed in April in the U.S. District Court for...
Read more
Outten & Golden LLP: NAACP Beats Back Employers’ Attempt to Escape Litigation in Discrimination Class Action
A New York state court ruled that information management giants NTT Data, Inc. and Philips Electronics North America Corp. will remain in a class action lawsuit alleging that major job search websites enable employers to illegally post job listings in New York City with blanket bans on applicants with felony convictions, Outten & Golden LLP and co-counsel said today. Filed in June 2015, the class action brought by 14 New York metropolitan area branches of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Inc. (NAACP) targets employers that post allegedly illegal job listings...
Read more
Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuit against SEPTA one of rising number, attorney says
The recent federal class action lawsuit filed against Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and other laws is one of many making those claims, an attorney knowledgeable of the FCRA said during a recent interview. "More and more class actions are popping up every day in this arena," Kathryn M. Rattigan, an associate with Robinson & Cole in Providence, R.I., said during a Pennsylvania Record email interview. "Private businesses and government alike should be aware of the FCRA’s requirements and stay up to speed on their...
Read more
U.S. to Curb Queries on Criminal Histories of Government Job Seekers
WASHINGTON — The White House on Friday will move to bar federal agencies from asking applicants for tens of thousands of government jobs about their criminal histories until the very end of the process. While checks of criminal histories have become routine in the public and private sectors, a regulation being proposed by the Obama administration would remove a barrier that discourages many freed prisoners from applying for jobs. The rule would prevent supervisors interviewing applicants for about half of all federal positions from asking about a job seeker’s criminal or credit history until...
Read more
Outten & Golden LLP: Court Keeps Job Search Websites in Discrimination Class Action
A New York state court ruled that the parent companies of three major job search websites will stay as defendants in a class action lawsuit alleging that employers use them to illegally post job listings in New York City with blanket bans on applicants with felony convictions, Outten & Golden LLP and co-counsel said today. Filed in June 2015, the class action brought by 14 New York metropolitan area branches of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Inc. (NAACP) targets employers that post alleged-ly illegal job listings and their “enablers,” such as defendant...
Read more
Do Not Apply: NAACP Sues Companies For Illegal Discrimination Against Ex-Offenders
The NAACP New York State Conference Metropolitan Council of Branches has filed a class action against employers who use leading job search sites Monster, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter to illegally post hundreds of job listings in New York with blanket bans on applicants with felony convictions. New York City law prohibits blanket rejections of applicants based on criminal history. The employers named in this Complaint exemplify the wide-range of companies engaged in this illegal practice and include large employers in the technology and information management industry like Philips, NTT Data and...
Read more
Ex-offenders still face illegal discrimination
When Mayor de Blasio signed the Fair Chance Act this month, New York took a welcome step forward. The new law prohibits employers from inquiring about a job applicant’s criminal history before they have made a conditional offer. It bans the box — “check here if you have been convicted of a crime” — that is a symbol of permanent unemployment for so many. It does not prohibit employers from taking that history into consideration. It does, however, make sure that every job seeker gets a fair shot first. With this law, New York City is beginning to face its history of allowing employers to...
Read more
U.S. Lawsuit Claims Companies Illegally Refused to Hire Ex-Cons
Dozens of companies using recruiting websites violated New York City law by refusing to hire anyone with a felony record, affecting mostly black people, according to a lawsuit filed by the NAACP on Thursday. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People sued a class of companies it said were breaking city and state laws that bar businesses from refusing to consider former convicts for jobs. The lawsuit was filed in state court in Manhattan. Since New York's prison population was more than half black, the lawsuit argued, such policies served to keep many black people out of...
Read more
Outten and Golden files criminal conviction suit on behalf of NAACP
NAACP Files Suit Against a Class of New York Employers for Their Illegal Discrimination Against Ex-Offenders Employers Are Using Leading Job Search Sites to Post Job Listings with Illegal “Ex-Offenders Need Not Apply” Blanket Bans on Applicants with Felony Convictions The NAACP New York State Conference Metropolitan Council of Branches today filed a class action against employers who use leading job search sites Monster, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter to illegally post hundreds of job listings in New York with blanket bans on applicants with felony convictions. New York City law prohibits blanket...
Read more