WASHINGTON - Pepsi Beverages Co. has agreed to pay $3.1 million to settle federal charges of race discrimination for using criminal background checks to screen out job applicants.
The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says the company’s policy of not hiring workers with arrest records disproportionately excluded more than 300 black applicants.
Under the policy, applicants with arrest records were not hired even if they had never been convicted of a crime.
The company also denied employment to those arrested or convicted of minor offences.
The EEOC says using arrest and conviction records to deny employment can be illegal if it’s not relevant for the job.
The company has since adopted a new criminal background policy.
Jan 12, 2012
MommaC
I assume this is in the USA?Can it be possible that their labour courts are even more crazy than ours are?
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Jan 12, 2012
DeCock1
lol....so a conviction of drinking and driving has no harsh employment effect....they must stop scaring us in SA....Viva Labour Laws viva.....lolReport Abuse
Jan 12, 2012
CheeseBoy
The article was not clear. Sowetan why publish articles which are not complete? somebody is still drunk from New year fever there at Sowetan.First its a headline that demands we buy the new.s paper and now this?
This is low, even for you Sowetan, Low indeed.
Question
Are these criminal checks being restricted to a particular racial groups(s) ?
SOWETAN WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WORD NEW.S.?????????????????????
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Jan 12, 2012
DeCock1
MommaCthats the US for you....I am even appalled that they find the criminal checks racist....as to say a majority of the black people are criminals...so let there be no checks....thats prejudicial on its own....i would understand if the ruling was on the grounds of unfair treatment/discrimination...but the US always works differently compared to other countries....I just wish our Labour Law practitioners will move towards the same direction...viva!! lol
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Jan 12, 2012
Julz
But wouldn't you want to know if the person employed by you, or hired to work next to you, committed murder or something? I would want to check firstReport Abuse
Jan 12, 2012
MommaC
DeCock1LOL
I don't think a drunk driving conviction will stop you getting a job in SA so no need to change the laws any more :)
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Jan 12, 2012
tumzangwana
@katakaWhites do this everywhere especially in private sector,whites are rotten,rotten.
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ayeye o nyannye motho wa modimo. haaaai ja ne....
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Jan 12, 2012
DJWinner
I don't see anything wrong with background checks if they do it to black and whites. If they only do it to blacks, then it's racist.Report Abuse