Round One – Texas Loses Its Suit Against The EEOC Over Its Criminal Background Guidance

There continues to be growing firestorm of litigation initiated by the EEOC over hiring checks based on criminal backgrounds. In one of the most high profile cases addressing this issue (that we previously blogged about here and here,) Judge Sam R. Cummings of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued an decision in State of Texas v. EEOC, Case No.5:13-CV-255 (N.D. Tex. Aug. 20, 2014), granting the EEOC’s motion to dismiss a lawsuit brought against it by the State of Texas regarding the its “Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Under Title VII.”

Texas argued that the EEOC did not have the authority to issue the Guidance and that the EEOC’s position that Title VII trumps conflicting state laws violates its state sovereignty. Judge Cummings rejected the State’s arguments in this first-of-its-kind attack on the EEOC’s authority.

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