According to Reuters, a class action lawsuit has been filed against Amazon.com Inc and a background check provider, Accurate Background Inc, claiming they illegally used a California sex offender website to conduct background checks on job applicants.
“Megan’s Law prohibits employers from denying jobs to applicants because their names appear on the website unless they do so to protect a person at risk. A different California law bars reporting agencies such as Accurate Background from providing employers with criminal records that are more than seven years old.”
Gainesville, Florida, recently passed the Fair Chance Hiring Ordinance to prevent an employer from taking adverse action against an applicant because of the individual’s criminal history. The ordinance places restrictions on employers who use criminal record history for employment decisions.
Hopefully, California’s and Gainesville’s progressive legislation will eventually permeate Florida.
Apparently, he was offered a job at an Amazon Fresh grocery store in March, but Amazon reneged after Accurate Background reported that he had been convicted of felony sex offenses. Lerma last year had cleared a background check for a seasonal job at an Amazon fulfillment center, according to the complaint.
1. Under California-Megan’s Law employers are prohibited from denying jobs to applicants because their names appear on the website unless they do so “to protect a person at risk.”
2. A different California law bars reporting agencies such as Accurate Background from providing employers with criminal records that are more than seven years old. (His conviction is almost 10 years old.)
Niiiiiiiice!!!! 🙂 🙂 🙂
But…. “ThEy CaN FiNd JoBs.”
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. But having been rejected from jobs that I was over qualified as well as just plain old qualified, I have to wonder how you can prove that a denial was made based on your name being on the registry.