For the same reason it is unlawful NOT to hire illegal immigrants, the Obama administration is now claiming it is unlawful not to hire criminals.

When you pre-screen job applicants based on legal work eligibility status you are adversely impacting job seekers based on race/origin/nationality (disparate impact), a federally protected category.  So too, when you pre-screen eligibility based on criminal record you adversely impact blacks.

Not hiring someone because they are illegally in the United States is unlawful by EEOC standards. They are applying the same logic to criminals.

racebaitingWASHINGTON DC – Criminal background checks have become all the rage in Washington, D.C., as politicians scramble to try to ensure that anyone who ever even thought of owning a gun is subjected to a thorough electronic proctology exam.

However, one group that appears immune to background check fever are the ever helpful Obama officials at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP).

The EEOC and OFCCP have each determined that employers who use background checks as one of the determinants of whether to hire a prospective employee may be engaging in prohibited discrimination.

These federal agencies reason that the use of criminal background checks can lead to a disparate impact on minority job applicants. According to these government agencies, in order for an employer to avoid claims that using a criminal background check is discriminatory, they must show that excluding applicants based upon criminal history is job-related and consistent with business necessity.

And the EEOC for its part is threatening lawsuits against companies which employ background checks.  (read more)

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