A job applicant for a
temporary staffing agency was denied a position over a record from the
1980's. He filed a discrimination case against the temporary staffing
agency and won.
“Employment policies that impose a blanket exclusion on people with past
convictions, without any consideration of the relationship of the
conviction to the job in question, can constitute unlawful
discrimination," Jennifer Clarke, executive director of the Public
Interest Law Center of Philadelphia, said in a press release.
The
nonprofit law center helped the man file the employment discrimination
lawsuit, which explains why denying an applicant employment based on
their criminal record violates the law:
"While such policies are
facially neutral, they produce severe disparate impact on racial
minorities, including African-American, Native Americans and Latinos,
because of the significantly higher rates of criminal convictions
experienced by these populations."
Recently Pepsi settled a
similar case for $3.1 million dollars for using arrest records that kept
approximately 300 people from getting a job.
"More companies are
getting sued because of their inconsistent hiring policies, using
arrest records, and using convictions that are not within the Federal or
State guidelines or inconsistently applying the law", says Bill
Whitford, CEO of S2Verify. "Companies need to review their policy and
framework around hiring to adjust to these actions and lawsuits"
Monday, January 23, 2012
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Pepsi Beverage Co. Pays $3.1 Million For Using Arrest Records
Pepsi Beverage Co was sued by the EEOC for using arrest records to disqualify approximately 300 applicants. Recently the EEOC has held hearings on the use of arrest records and background checks to ensure they don't create a disparate impact for Black Americans and Hispanics.
"Companies absolutely need to review their Employment Screening Policies and also take note of using arrest records that do not have a conviction for employment decisions on an applicant." said, Bill Whitford, CEO of S2Verify. "As an industry, we are seeing more litigation around disparate impact and not following the FCRA (Fair Credit Reporting Act) and state laws and regulations. It is critically important that your Employment Screening Vendor gives you all the facts and follows these rules to ensure 100% compliance."
"The FCRA and state laws limit the use of arrest records in making hiring decisions. In addition, there are many state specific rules around what a CRA (Consumer Reporting Agency) can report to a client."
"We see many new clients that still don't understand the limitations or complexity of following these rules and regulations. There previous provider simply didn't keep them informed."
About S2VERIFY:
S2Verify is a leading process innovator in the application of background screening technologies to the needs of business and individuals for employee and tenant information that is comprehensive in scope, delivered quickly to key managers, and easy to read, understand and use by authorized personnel. With offices in Atlanta, Chicago and Miami the privately-held company specializes in providing a customizable yet fully integrated, best-in-class set of background screening services that address business and consumer needs either poorly met or not met at all by leading, nationally-branded providers of mass-market background screening solutions.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Employers Add 200,000 Jobs, Unemployment Lowest in Nearly 3 Years
A burst of hiring in December pushed the unemployment rate to its
lowest level in nearly three years, giving the economy a boost at the
end of 2011. The Labor Department said Friday that employers added a net 200,000
jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, the
lowest since February 2009. The rate has dropped for four straight
months.The hiring gains cap a six-month stretch in which the
economy generated 100,000 jobs or more in each month. That hasn’t
happened since April 2006.
“There is no question that today’s employment report is a positive and there is also no question that the pace of job growth has accelerated of late,” said Dan Greenhaus, an analyst at BTIG LLC, a brokerage firm
A better job market is a positive sign for President Barack Obama, who is bound to face voters with the highest unemployment rate of any sitting president since World War II. Unemployment was 7.8 percent when Obama took office in January 2009.
Still, the level may matter less to his re-election chances if the rate continues to fall. History suggests that presidents’ re-election prospects hinge less on the unemployment rate itself than on the rate’s direction during the year or two before Election Day.
For all of 2011, the economy added 1.6 million jobs, better than the 940,000 added in 2010. The unemployment rate averaged 8.9 percent last year, down from 9.6 percent the previous year. Economists forecast that the job gains will top 2.1 million this year.
The December report painted a picture of a broadly improving job market. Average hourly pay rose, providing consumers with more income to spend. The average work week lengthened, a sign that business is picking up and companies may soon need more workers.
And hiring was strong across almost all major industries. Manufacturing added 23,000 jobs, as did the health care industry. Transportation and warehousing added 50,000 jobs. Retailers added 28,000 jobs. Even the beleaguered construction industry added 17,000 workers. More jobs and higher pay are crucial to helping the economy grow. They could enable shoppers to increase spending, which fuels 70 percent of economic activity.
The economy likely grew at an annual rate of above 3 percent, a healthy pace. Still, the job market has a long way to go to recover from the Great Recession. The nation has 6 million fewer jobs that it did in December 2007, when the recession began. In addition to the more than 13 million who were unemployed in December, a lot of people can’t find full-time work. And many who are unemployed have stopped looking for jobs. The government only counts people as unemployed if they are actively searching for jobs.
When including those groups, the broader “underemployment” rate was 15.2 percent. That’s down from 15.6 percent the previous month, but still high. The figure has dropped for three straight months.
A more robust hiring market coincides with other positive data that show the economy ended the year with some momentum.
Weekly applications for unemployment benefits have fallen to levels last seen more than three years ago. Holiday sales were solid. And November and December were the strongest months of 2011 for U.S. auto sales.
Many businesses say they are ready to step up hiring in early 2012 after seeing stronger consumer confidence and greater demand for their products.
Link to article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/sixth-straight-month-of-solid-hiring-expected-when-government-reports-on-december-job-growth/2012/01/06/gIQAv7lMeP_story.html?wpisrc=al_comboNE_b
“There is no question that today’s employment report is a positive and there is also no question that the pace of job growth has accelerated of late,” said Dan Greenhaus, an analyst at BTIG LLC, a brokerage firm
A better job market is a positive sign for President Barack Obama, who is bound to face voters with the highest unemployment rate of any sitting president since World War II. Unemployment was 7.8 percent when Obama took office in January 2009.
Still, the level may matter less to his re-election chances if the rate continues to fall. History suggests that presidents’ re-election prospects hinge less on the unemployment rate itself than on the rate’s direction during the year or two before Election Day.
For all of 2011, the economy added 1.6 million jobs, better than the 940,000 added in 2010. The unemployment rate averaged 8.9 percent last year, down from 9.6 percent the previous year. Economists forecast that the job gains will top 2.1 million this year.
The December report painted a picture of a broadly improving job market. Average hourly pay rose, providing consumers with more income to spend. The average work week lengthened, a sign that business is picking up and companies may soon need more workers.
And hiring was strong across almost all major industries. Manufacturing added 23,000 jobs, as did the health care industry. Transportation and warehousing added 50,000 jobs. Retailers added 28,000 jobs. Even the beleaguered construction industry added 17,000 workers. More jobs and higher pay are crucial to helping the economy grow. They could enable shoppers to increase spending, which fuels 70 percent of economic activity.
The economy likely grew at an annual rate of above 3 percent, a healthy pace. Still, the job market has a long way to go to recover from the Great Recession. The nation has 6 million fewer jobs that it did in December 2007, when the recession began. In addition to the more than 13 million who were unemployed in December, a lot of people can’t find full-time work. And many who are unemployed have stopped looking for jobs. The government only counts people as unemployed if they are actively searching for jobs.
When including those groups, the broader “underemployment” rate was 15.2 percent. That’s down from 15.6 percent the previous month, but still high. The figure has dropped for three straight months.
A more robust hiring market coincides with other positive data that show the economy ended the year with some momentum.
Weekly applications for unemployment benefits have fallen to levels last seen more than three years ago. Holiday sales were solid. And November and December were the strongest months of 2011 for U.S. auto sales.
Many businesses say they are ready to step up hiring in early 2012 after seeing stronger consumer confidence and greater demand for their products.
Link to article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/sixth-straight-month-of-solid-hiring-expected-when-government-reports-on-december-job-growth/2012/01/06/gIQAv7lMeP_story.html?wpisrc=al_comboNE_b
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