Pepsi To Pay Over $3 Mil. In Discrimination Case
An investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found reasonable cause to believe that national soft drink manufacturer Pepsi Beverages discriminated against some Black applicants.
A claim was filed in Minneapolis with the federal agency after it was alleged that the criminal background check policy as part of Pepsis employment application adversely affected Blacks. The EEOC agreed.
Pepsi has agreed to pay $3.13 million and provide jobs and training as restitution in this case. The federal agency found that over 300 Black applicants had their rights under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 violated because of Pepsis policy.
The EEOC has long standing guidance and policy statements on the use of arrest and conviction record in employment, EEOC Chair Jacqueline Berrien said in a written statement. I commend Pepsis willingness to re-examine its policy and modify it to ensure that unwarranted roadblocks to employment are removed.
Under a previous Pepsi employment policy, applicants who had been arrested were not hired for permanent positions within the company, even if there was no conviction. Further, the old policy barred applicants who had been arrested for or convicted of minor offenses. According to the EEOC, use of arrest and conviction records in denying employment can be illegal when its not relevant to the job applied for because it can limit the employment opportunities of applicants or workers based on race and ethnicity.
After the EEOC suit was filed, Pepsi amended its criminal background check policy as part of applying for a job with the nations second largest soft drink maker. In addition to paying the money, the company will now also offer jobs to the victims of the old criminal background check policy who want and qualify for a job at Pepsi.
When employers contemplate instituting a background check policy, the EEOC recommends that they take into consideration the nature and gravity of the offense, the time that has passed since the conviction and/or completion of the sentence, and the nature of the job sought in order to be sure that the exclusion is important for the particular position, said EEOC Acting Director Julie Schmid of the Minneapolis area office where the complaint was filed. The Minneapolis office is part of the Chicago district. 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.
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