The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has been named in a lawsuit after the class members claim its background check policies are unfair. The plaintiffs claim the defendants’ actions have disproportionately affected African American applicants resulting in the unnecessary firing of current employees who have a demonstrated track record of successful employment and the denial of employment to applicants who are well-qualified to perform the jobs at issue safely and effectively. The plaintiffs claim the policy disqualifies many job applicants and employees based on criminal history that is not related to the job or occurred so long ago that it is irrelevant.