Employers have asked information regarding criminal convictions for years with the caveat that “all circumstances would be considered” and that an individual’s criminal conviction would not alone be a disqualifier. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, however, says that using criminal convictions as a disqualifier results in a disparate impact upon minorities – thus, putting employers on the defensive to identify a legitimate business need for using a conviction record as a basis for disqualifying a candidate.  Many say that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is legislatively creating a protected class that is not found in any statute.  Employers seem to be in a difficult spot – avoid using a criminal record as a disqualifier or run the risk of being sued for negligent hiring when the individual goes on to engage in more criminal behavior.  What’s an employer to do?

Learning Objectives:

• Latest from the EEOC on using criminal convictions as disqualifiers
• Latest court decisions regarding using criminal convictions as disqualifiers
• FDIC rules regarding criminal convictions as disqualifiers
• Using social media in conducting background checks
• What the Fair Credit Reporting Act requires when conducting background checks
• Ban the Box rules for federal contractors
• Growing trend for states to pass ban the box rules
• Avoiding negligent hiring claims while complying with ban the box rules

Who Will Benefit: Human resource professionals, Risk Managers, Business Owners