Archives: Discrimination

Texas Files Suit to Strike Down EEOC Background Check Guidance

Don’t mess with Texas. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) usually forces employers who are subject to Title VII to play defense. The State of Texas, however, has upended that approach. On November 4, 2013, Texas filed a federal lawsuit that seeks to strike down the EEOC’s April 2012 Enforcement Guidance limiting employers’ use … Continue Reading

Staffing Agency Employee May Sue Multiple Employers for Wrongful Discharge, Federal Court Rules

By Todd Lebowitz on September 23, 2013 Posted in Discrimination, New York, Staffing Agency

Whose employee is it anyway? The answer may be everyone’s. Companies who use staffing agencies to supply workers may be considered joint employers of those workers, even if the staffing agency hires and pays the workers. Both companies may be held liable for retaliation and wrongful termination, a federal court in New York has just … Continue Reading

Court Slams EEOC on Background Check Lawsuit

By Pat Muldowney on August 18, 2013 Posted in Background Checks, Discrimination, EEOC, Retail

Last week, a district court in Maryland granted summary judgment in favor of Freeman, Inc. (“Freeman”), a service provider for corporate events, with respect to a nationwide pattern and practice lawsuit brought by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”). EEOC v. Freeman, No. 09-CV-2573 (D. Md. Aug. 9, 2013). In its lawsuit, the EEOC … Continue Reading

EEOC Files Two Race-Based Class Action Lawsuits on Criminal Background Checks

By Melissa Siebert on July 15, 2013 Posted in Background Checks, Discrimination, EEOC, Retail

On June 11, 2013, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed separate class action lawsuits against two employers – Dollar General Stores and BMW – alleging that these employers engaged in racial discrimination by using criminal background checks to disqualify applicants from employment. The BMW case filed in South Carolina has a 69-person class, and is location specific. … Continue Reading