Criminal Background Checks Now On The OFCCP's Radar

In a major surprise, the Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (“OFCCP”) joined ranks with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) to target the use of pre-employment criminal background checks.  On January 29, 2013, just one day after Judge Gaughan of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio delivered a resounding victory to the employer in EEOC v. Kaplan Higher Education Corp, et al., No. 10-CV-2882, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11722 (N.D. Ohio Jan. 28, 2013), dismissing the EEOC’s first lawsuit challenging the use of pre-employment credit reports, the OFCCP issued Directive 306, entitled “Complying with Nondiscrimination Provisions: Criminal Record Restrictions and Discrimination Based on Race and National Origin.”

Seyfarth Shaw will be holding a webinar on Februay 15th at 12:00 p.m. central to provide a comprehensive analysis of the OFCCP's new directive and steps that employers can take to mitigate their risks of challenges