On January 11, 2012, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) announced that it had found “reasonable cause” to believe that the former policy used by Pepsi when conducting background checks for employment was a violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Pepsi Beverages, previously known as Pepsi Bottling Group, discriminated against African American, claims the EEOC.
Over 300 African-Americans were denied jobs, when under Pepsi’s previous background check policy, applicants with pending charges were eliminated from consideration for employment even though they had not been convicted of an offense.
The former policy also eliminated employment opportunities to those who were arrested or convicted of minor offenses. According to the EEOC, using conviction records to deny employment can be illegal under Title VII when the conviction is not relevant to the job because “it can limit employment opportunities for applicants or workers based on their race or ethnicity.”
Using a criminal history to deny employment can be particularly detrimental to African-American males. The Sentencing Project reports that 60 percent of inmates in American prisons belong to a racial a racial or ethnic minority, and that one in eight African-Americans in their twenties is incarcerated on “any given day.” Since 95 percent of all prisoners will be released, denial of employment opportunities due to a criminal history can be a major factor in increasing the already high recidivism rate in communities across the country, and destroying communities of color.
Responding to the EEOC investigation, Pepsi revised its criminal background check policy and has agreed to pay $3.13 million dollars. The EEOC also reports:
Part of the $3.13 million will primarily be divided among African-American job applicants
A part of the money from the settlement will also be used for “the administration of the claims process”
Pepsi will provide job training to African-Americans
In a press release, Julie Schmid, Acting Director of the EEOC’s Minneapolis Area Office, stated “ We hope that employers with unnecessarily broad criminal background check policies take note of this agreement and reassess their policies to ensure compliance with Title VII.” Reentry organizations and their clients give rise to that hope.
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