Working Wednesday: Criminal Background Checks

This blog is about Pepsi paying a settlement to the federal government amounting to $3.1 million over race discrimination charges. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) did not find any intentional discrimination. Then why the charges? Because Pepsi's background check policy limited job opportunities for minorities with higher arrest and conviction rates than whites. I am not here to discuss the EEOC charges or the conviction rates as noted above. To me, the more pressing problem for anyone, regardless of race, etc. etc. is "Arrest".

Yes, Pepsi's policy denied employment for people with arrest records even if they had never been convicted of a crime, and denied employment to those arrested or convicted of minor offenses. I don't know what minor offenses means exactly in this legal case, but when I have seen this term used on job applications in Ohio it generally means "misdemeanors other than minor traffic violations".

The news article in which this was reported, also went on to report that the EEOC is taking a hard look at company policies on background checks. Instead of sweeping broad policies, the EEOC recommends that employers consider each applicant separately with 3 things in mind: the nature and gravity of offenses; the time that has passed since conviction or completion of a sentence; and the nature of the job sought.

Businesses, re-evaluate your policy and determine if it passes federal regulation. Also, if you are a business who contracts these background checks out carte blanche, giving full control to the vendor, you may want your attorney to take a look at that contract. Job seekers, you are in a tight bind right now but there are those who are trying to fix the situation. You can contact the EEOC and see if they can help.
In the meantime, let's all try to right the ship the best we can ourselves and use background checks the way they are intended.

See: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700214423/Pepsi-Beverages-pays-31M-in-racial-bias-case-for-using-criminal-background-checks.html?pg=2