Andres Rodriguez, who is accused of shooting a man seven times following a traffic dispute in Tinley Park last year, beat out five candidates for a sixth-grade English Language Arts teaching job in August, despite his pending criminal charges and recent dismissal by…
Posts by Category: Criminal History Check
Man Accused of Exploiting 12 Children at N. Charleston Church Had 2008 Conviction for Assaulting Ohio Child
Jacob Hazlett, the former North Charleston church volunteer who was charged with five additional sexual exploitation counts was prosecuted when he was 18 years old for an attempted assault 11 years ago in Ohio. Hazlett agreed to plead guilty to the charge of attempted…
Dealership Controller Embezzles $1.1 Million
Vanessa Vence-Small, of New Windsor, N.Y., pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was sentenced Nov. 28 in U.S. District Court in New Haven, Conn., to 30 months in prison. Prosecutors alleged that Vence-Small enriched herself “by means of materially false and…
2018 Arizona Legislative Session What’s New for Arizona Employers?
Arizona’s new House Bill (HB) 2311, which will become effective Aug. 3, 2018, aims to create a blanket limitation on liability for employers that hire an employee or contract with an independent contractor “who has previously been convicted of a criminal offense” –…
New California Laws Restrict Employer Access to Criminal and Pay Histories
In recent years, California joined other states in banning an employer’s ability to rely on criminal history information when making hiring decisions. Under an amended law, any employer with five or more employees may not ask about or consider an applicant’s criminal…
Bank Moves to Dismiss Background Screening Class Action Complaint Based on Federal Preemption Argument
In March, PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., moved to dismiss a class action complaint filed by Damian McCoy in the Western District of Pennsylvania. The individual sued the business after his conditional employment offer was revoked when a 2011 arrest was…
“Ban the Box” Legislation Expands – What Should Employers Do?
With “Ban the Box” laws continuing to expand, many states are beginning to consider whether they should be asking questions about arrest and conviction record as part of the normal application process. Ban the Box was implemented to allow those with criminal…
Another Change to Massachusetts Ban-The-Box Law
Massachusetts employers soon will no longer be permitted to inquire about convictions and sealed or expunged records for employment purposes. About 10 years ago, the state became the second to enact a “ban-the-box” law and on Oct. 13, a criminal justice reform bill,…
Workers with Criminal Records
A new study commissioned by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the Charles Koch Institute (CKI) revealed that about two-thirds of human resource professionals are open to hiring or have hired applicants with criminal histories. Employers who choose…
California Cities Drop Thousands of Marijuana Convictions
San Francisco and San Diego are moving to erase thousands of marijuana convictions en masse, which could be life-changing for some and helpful, especially, to minorities. San Francisco District Attorney George Gascon said he aims to “fix the harm that was done not…





