Are racial minorities sometimes disparately harmed by employers who screen potential hires for criminal records? That’s the position of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, but the question is still relatively untested in the courts. The EEOC itself has faced opposition from lawmakers and setbacks in background check litigation, and private plaintiffs have inked just a handful of small settlements.
Now plaintiffs can point to something more: On Tuesday, a federal judge in Manhattan green-lighted a class action on behalf of about 250,000 African-Americans who claim they were subjected to discriminatory background checks by the U.S. Census Bureau. According to Adam Klein of Outten & Golden, who represents the plaintiffs, the ruling marks the first time a judge has certified such a class in a contested case.
