In a groundbreaking effort to close the wage gap between men and women, Massachusetts has become the first state to bar employers from asking about applicants’ salaries before offering them a job. The new law will require hiring managers to state a compensation figure…
Posts by Category: Background Check Laws
Judge Tosses Target Employment Background Check Class Action
A Target employment background check class action lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge in Minnesota who ruled that Target did not willfully violate the law. Lead plaintiff Thomas Just alleged in his class action lawsuit filed in November of last year that Target…
Uber Settles Driver Lawsuit Over Background Checks, to pay $7.5 Million
Uber has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle a lawsuit brought by drivers over background checks conducted by the ride-hailing company. The case in San Francisco federal court involved allegations that Uber terminated drivers from its platform after obtaining their…
Waffle House Must Face Class Employment Claims
A class action claiming Waffle House didn’t hire prospective employees based on false information garnered from background checks, will proceed, despite Waffle House trying to shut the case down. Lead plaintiff William Jones attempted to get a job at a Waffle…
U.S. Census Bureau Settles Hiring Lawsuit Over Criminal Histories
The U.S. Census Bureau has reached a $15 million settlement of a lawsuit claiming it discriminated against black and Hispanic job applicants with criminal histories during the 2010 census by making it too hard to document their readiness for work. It requires the…
DEA Will Announce Whether Marijuana Should Be Reclassified In First Half Of 2016
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said it will decide in the first half of 2016 whether marijuana should be reclassified under federal law. The agency gave no indication what its decision will be. There are five categories, or schedules, for drugs in the U.S….
Uber Settles Lawsuit With San Francisco and Los Angeles Over Driver Background Checks
Uber agreed to pay up to $25 million to settle a 2014 lawsuit filed by city officials in San Francisco and Los Angeles who argued that the ride service gave customers a “false sense of security” by touting its background checks as the toughest in the industry. The…
New Law Requires Parent Volunteers to Have Background Checks
A state law, which went into effect in July, amended provisions of the Child Protective Services Law and requires as many as three background checks of school volunteers. Area educators and parents say they hope the clearances, one of which costs nearly $30 to obtain,…
California’s New E-Verify Law – Get it Right or Pay the Price
Under a new California law that took effect on January 1, 2016, California employers may face civil penalties of up to $10,000 for misusing E-Verify, the federal electronic employment verification system some employers use to verify employment eligibility of newly…
Background Checks More Cumbersome Than Ever
With companies facing hacking and age-old threats like workplace violence, a thorough system for screening out problem employees is more important than ever. But a laudable push by policymakers to get people “back to work” and make progress on issues such…





