Pamela Devata Quoted in Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal
“Some Job-Screening Tactics Challenged as Illegal”

Pamela Devata was quoted in the August 11, 2010 Associated Press article, “Some Job-Screening Tactics Challenged as Illegal,” and the August 12, 2010 Wall Street Journal Law Blog article, "Background Checks in Hiring: Discrimination or Due Diligence." The AP article was also picked up in hundreds of other publications (regional and local newspapers and national news sites) across the country, such as: Law.com, Boston Globe, Houston Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, BusinessWeek, Yahoo! News, MSNBC, Forbes.com, and Fox News. The article discussed how companies using criminal records or bad credit reports to screen job applicants might inadvertently break anti-discrimination laws as the government steps up scrutiny of hiring policies that can hurt African Americans and Hispanics. Pam pointed out that “past indiscretions may be an indictor of future behavior, especially in the criminal context.” She further explained that employers nationwide have seen the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission become more active in investigating employer hiring practices. The scrutiny has caused many companies to reevaluate their screening process and move to a case-by-case standard when requiring credit or background checks.