The EEOC -- Disparate Impact and the Use of Criminal Arrest and Convictions Records 5-16-12

Summary: No federal law directly addresses employment discrimination against people with criminal backgrounds. Yet, since 1987, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has maintained that, with some exceptions, an employer's policy or practice of excluding individuals from employment on the basis of criminal arrest and conviction records is unlawful under Title VII as disparate impact discrimination. The EEOC maintains that because statistics show that African-American and Hispanic males are arrested and convicted at rates disproportionate to their numbers in the population, background checks work to their special disadvantage to limit their employment. This year the EEOC issued its first guidance in over 20 years, making use of background checks more onerous. It was approved shortly after the EEOC announced a record $3.13M settlement with Pepsi Beverages over the racially disparate impact of its criminal background checks policy. On this previously recorded conference call, our experts discuss the EEOC's new guidance and its recent enforcement actions. Featuring Mr. Maurice Emsellem of the National Employment Law Project and Ms. Dominique Ludvigson of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.