issues

Criminal History Discrimination

If you were denied a job because of the results of a background check, your rights may have been violated. As a leader in the fight against this type of discrimination, we’re working to ensure everyone gets a fair chance.

More than 95% of U.S. employers conduct background checks during the hiring process. At the same time, more than 80 million people, or one in three adults, have interacted with the criminal justice system.

 

How employers conduct these checks and use the information is one of the most important social justice issues of our time.

Outten & Golden is a nationally recognized leader on this issue. As a public interest law firm that protects the rights of workers, we fight to address the harm that job applicants and workers with criminal records face, including the unfair and illegal treatment of Black and Latinx workers in the hiring process.

Over the past decade, we’ve successfully challenged the hiring practices of many of the nation’s largest employers, including Target, Uber Eats, Fresh Direct, Macy’s, and the U.S. Census Bureau. Our work has led major employers to rethink how they approach the background check process, and in many cases, to change their hiring practices entirely.

In the process, we’ve recovered more than $25 million for thousands of workers who were denied a chance at a fresh start.

Framing the Issue

  • A surprisingly large number of American workers have criminal records. In fact, more than 25% of job seekers have at least one prior conviction. That’s about the same number who have 4-year degrees.
  • It’s no secret that America’s criminal justice system disproportionally targets, prosecutes and convicts people of color. This discrimination leads to lifelong consequences, including the inability to find gainful employment.
  • 650,000 Americans return to their communities from prison each year. About half will go back to prison within a few years. Employment has been proven to reduce this cycle, and provide meaningful benefits to society.
  • 37 States and more than 150 cities and counties have implemented “Ban the Box” policies that remove conviction and arrest questions from job applications and delay background checks until later in the hiring process.

Notable Matters

  • Secured a $15 million settlement for more than 450,000 workers in Gonzalez v. Pritzker, a case that challenged the U.S. Census Bureau’s background check policy. This groundbreaking case, which was awarded Public Justice’s Trial Lawyer of the Year Award, changed the way many people view criminal background checks.
  • Representing plaintiffs in Mandala v. NTT, a class action that challenges NTT’s use of criminal records to deny jobs to qualified Black applicants. The fight continues today in federal court.
  • Representing plaintiffs in class action litigation against Walmart in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, challenging the company’s use of overly broad background checks due to a uniform hiring policy that has disparately impacted Black and Hispanic candidates.
  • Secured $3.6 million for job applicants who challenged a regional transportation authority’s use of criminal background checks.
  • Secured $1.5 million for job applicants who were unfairly denied employment by one of the country’s largest sports and entertainment venues. Our work also led the employer to change the interview questions they ask, and to allow applicants to see and dispute their background check results, before denying them a job.
  • Secured $3.3 million for 1,700+ workers in Aguilera v. Uber Eats, a lawsuit stemming from the alleged violations of New York City’s Fair Chance Act, which makes it illegal for most employers to consider an applicant’s criminal history before making a job offer.

Looking for work with a criminal record?

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Were you turned down for a job or promotion because of an arrest, conviction, or prison record?

If you think an employer discriminated against you because of an arrest or conviction, we’re ready to fight for your rights. 

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