In April of 2012, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued an Enforcement Guidance addressing an employer’s ability to consider an applicant/employee’s arrest and/or conviction records in employment-related decisions.

It is important to note that such Guidance does not have the force and effect of law. It is, rather, the EEOC’s opinion of how it will construe certain statuses over which it has enforcement power. As a general rule, this means that employers ignore such Guidance at the peril of protracted and expensive litigation, either with the EEOC or with a Plaintiff armed with the EEOC’s Guidance. Continue reading “Contrary to Public Opinion, You Can Still Conduct Criminal Background Checks – With Caution” →