Name that Section - Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts

language was sufficient, its placement on the application was not clear and conspicuous enough to unambiguously direct applicants not to disclose such convictions

Employers should maintain maximum confidentiality of criminal offender record information (CORI), including responses that no criminal records exists. Sharing of such information infringes upon the applicant’s right to privacy. 309 Furthermore, criminal penalties may be imposed for the release of information to unauthorized individuals. 310

LCW Practice Advisor

Case Studies on Using Criminal Records:

El v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. 311 Donald El, an African-American, applied for a position with King Paratransit Services as a paratransit driver for Southern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (“SEPTA”). SEPTA had a policy that required that no driver have a record of any felony or misdemeanor conviction for any crime of moral turpitude or of violence against persons- no matter how much time had elapsed since the conviction. After conditionally hiring El, a criminal background check revealed that El had a 47-year-old conviction for second degree murder for an apparent gang related fight when El was fifteen years old. El had served three- and-a-half years for his crime and had no other convictions since that time. El’s employment was terminated for the murder conviction. El filed a complaint with the EEOC alleging that the criminal conviction policy, as broadly applied, had a disparate impact on those who were African-American and Hispanic. The EEOC investigated and found in favor of El. El then filed suit in federal district court for disparate impact under Title VII. The district court granted SEPTA’s motion for summary judgment The Court of Appeals affirmed. First, the court noted that while a criminal conviction for violent offense has nothing to do with an applicant’s ability to drive a paratransit bus, to the extent that SEPTA can show a necessity to keep its passengers safe, there may be a business necessity for the policy. In addition, the court noted that SEPTA did have a narrow policy to the extent that it did not place a time length on convictions for crimes of moral turpitude or violence, but it did put a time length on convictions for other enumerated crimes that were less job-related. Second, the court found that SEPTA had sufficiently proved that a reasonable juror would find that SEPTA’s policy was consistent with business necessity.

Name that Section: Frequently Used Education Code and Title 5 Sections for Community College Districts ©2020 (c) Liebert Cassidy Whitmore 101