Background checks land Dollar General in feds' hot seat

[Dave]

Gotta love the government, it seems now if you own a business you might not be able to do background checks because it could be a violation of the Civil Rights Act. I mean if their is real evidence that a company has not hired someone based on their race then sure, that company should get in trouble... but.... if someone wasn't hired because of their history, even if they have paid their debt to society (depending on the crime) then that's the applicants fault for making poor decisions. I mean if I owned a bank and someone applied that had a felony conviction for embezzlement and their were applicants that were not convicted felons, probably going to pick one of the people that didn't have the felony on their record.

The political correct crap really needs to stop.

Dollar General Corp. has been hit with a lawsuit from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which alleges the discount retailer's criminal background check policies are discriminatory.

At the center of the suit is Dollar General's policy that “excludes from employment individuals with certain criminal convictions for specified periods,” according to a Dollar General SEC Filing.

The EEOC alleges that the company’s criminal background check policy has a “disparate impact” on black job candidates and employees, a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The suit includes charges from two rejected applicants.

Dollar General acknowledged the EEOC scrutiny last year, saying it “believes that its criminal background check process is both lawful and necessary to a safe environment for its employees and customers and the protection of its assets and shareholders’ investments.”

The EEOC also filed suit against BMW for its background check policy at a South Carolina manufacturing plant, according to media reports.

The EEOC revised its guidance on criminal background checks last year. And EEOC Commissioner Constance Barker, during a visit to Nashville earlier this year, warned companies about increased scrutiny of such policies.

Companies have doled out millions of dollars in fines and settlements for criminal background check policies that didn’t pass muster with the EEOC. Last year, Pepsi Beverages agreed to pay $3.1 million after the agency found the company’s use of criminal background checks discriminated based on race.

http://www.bizjournals.com/nashville/blog/2013/06/eeoc-sues-dollar-...

[XLFD]

Since more black people apparently have felonies in their background, it's racially discriminating to do a background felony check and potentially rule out more blacks, than non-blacks???  Can't we say it is also sexual discrimination, since more men have felonies in their past than women?  Can't we say it's age discrimination, since older folks are more likely to have felonies in their past due to their added years?  

It's absurd, our government is going after our private sector in the weirdest ways, all to show off their repressive power.

[Willy]

The stupidity contiunues. More sh_t from the liberals.