Tag: criminal background check

Federal Judge Rules that Convicted Murderer Can Sue Over Being Rejected for Grocery Delivery Position A U.S. District Court judge in New York has ruled that a convicted murderer who served almost 23 years in prison can sue over being turned down for a delivery driver job. In the court's decision, it stated that the plaintiff might pursue a class action suit after being turned down for a position delivering groceries to people's homes by a logistics provider. In this case, one of the multiple companies being targeted in the suit conducted a background check on the plaintiff and found that he had lied about having no criminal history. The plaintiff had been previously convicted of second-degree murder, and the logistics provider to which he had applied turned him down for the position. The plaintiff then filed a class-action suit against the logistic provider and multiple of the related companies to which they provided services. The class to which the plaintiff will represent is all individuals with criminal histories which the companies have turned down in violation of New York's law which forbids employers from rejecting applicants due to criminal history that is not directly related to the positions for which they are applying or would pose an unreasonable danger to the public. Though the judge declined to rule on the merits of the case, they did find that the defendants had failed in demonstrating that either of these two exceptions would apply and that the plaintiff had successfully shown that he had been rehabilitated and does not pose an unreasonable risk to the general public. However, the judge did express sympathy to the idea that the defendants may not want a convicted murderer to deliver to the homes of their customers. The multiple companies being targeted in this suit outside of the logistics company to which the plaintiff applied attempted to file a motion for dismissal, arguing both that the employee was turned down for lying on his application and that they could not be sued because they were not the prospective employers. Both of these arguments were rejected by the court. The court found that the plaintiff had "barely" demonstrated that all of the companies had sufficient control over hiring decisions to make them prospective employers. Though, the court warned that this might not survive through summary judgment. Additionally, the court found that it was too early to consider the motivations for rejecting the employee, which would better be done either at a motion for summary judgment or during a trial. However, at this juncture, the court found that the criminal history of the applicant does not appear to have a bearing on his ability to perform the job. This illustrates the importance of considering all local, state, and federal laws in making decisions based on criminal history and working with a background check provider you can trust to assist you in complying with applicable laws. In addition, Pre-employ offers resources to help employers stay compliant and incorporate fair chance hiring practices. To learn more, download our free resource 5 Tips To Avoid FCRA Non-Compliance.

Tag: criminal background check

Federal Judge Rules that Convicted Murderer Can Sue Over Being Rejected for Grocery Delivery Position

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