I wanted to let you know that West Virginia, together with attorneys general in eight other states, today sent a letter to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission expressing concern about lawsuits filed by the commission that claim employers’ use of criminal background checks of potential employees constitutes unlawful discrimination under federal law. The letter says the lawsuits, filed against Dollar General and BMW Manufacturing Co. LLC, are “misguided and a quintessential example of gross federal overreach.” Our letter urges Commission Chair Jacqueline Berrien and the other four Commissioners to reconsider the lawsuits and the published agency guidance driving the lawsuits, which assert that refusing to hire someone for failing a criminal background check often will violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. West Virginia has a special concern with the EEOC’s aggressive overreach because the agency also is claiming to override state laws requiring criminal background checks. For example, West Virginia currently has a law that prohibits any person who has been convicted of a felony here or in any other state from owning, being employed by or associating with a pain management clinic. That law is important and protects citizens, especially in light of the problem West Virginia has with prescription drug abuse. In short, I believe these lawsuits defy common sense. An employer may have any number of nondiscriminatory reasons for not wanting to hire people who cannot pass a criminal background check. Even if the use of criminal background checks in hiring might seem unfair to some, the law does not prohibit it. It is not the commission’s role to unilaterally expand the protections of Title VII under the pretext of preventing racial discrimination. At a time when West Virginia businesses are already saddled with a multitude of burdensome regulations, the last thing we need is another federal agency freelancing and imposing even more unnecessary requirements.” Dollar General is one of the largest private employers in West Virginia. In 2012, DOLGENCORP Inc., the parent company of Dollar General, was listed as the 28th largest private employer, according to information from WorkForce West Virginia. In 2011, the company was ranked at No. 30. This office was joined in the letter by attorneys general from Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina and Utah. bit.ly/16ZHtEo
Posted on: Wed, 24 Jul 2013 16:28:10 +0000
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