BMW sued by U.S. over criminal background checks in hiring

[DainBramaged]

BMW Manufacturing Co. was sued by the U.S. government over the allegedly discriminatory use of criminal background checks in hiring.

The company used those checks in a manner that was biased against black workers and job applicants, according to a complaint filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Tuesday in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

BMW Manufacturing, a unit of BMW AG, used the checks to deny re-employment to as many as 69 blacks working for a logistical services company that helped staff its Spartanburg facility when they tried to transfer to another logistics firm in 2008, according to the EEOC's complaint.

BMW operates an assembly plant in Spartanburg.

"Claimants were denied access to BMW's facility without any individualized assessment of the nature and gravity of their criminal offenses, the ages of the convictions or the nature of their respective positions," the commission alleged.



Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20130611/OEM01/306119953#ixzz2W0eJcOFv

[JustAnotherGen]

1. Seems like it's local

To that facility in S.C. Me thinks BMW needs to find out who precisely created the problem and shit can those people who are so-called 'hiring managers'. Because it's a few bigots down in Spartanburg that are most likely responsible for these practices.

[A HERETIC I AM]

3. Exactly

The headline might as well read "Blacks denied re-employment at South Carolina Auto Assembly Plant"

[southernyankeebelle]

2. That is troubling but also what is more troubling is corporations looking into their debt. Also

companies aloud to look at your facebook.

[JustAnotherGen]

4. I don't know

The hiring manager in S.C. saw black skin so everything else was moot.


I really think the Title of the article is way off. Yeah - BMW hired an ass hat. But that ass hat is ultimately responsible for letting their personal prejudice get in the way of BMW's bottom line.

[kestrel91316]

5. Doesn't the US require a background check to work for

the feds in any capacity, no matter how minor??

[DainBramaged]

6. From the WaPo

Justice Department statistics show that blacks accounted for 37 percent of those behind bars last year, even though they make up only 13 percent of the U.S. population.

The EEOC is not alone in focusing on the role of criminal background checks in black employment. Since the recession, seven states — including Maryland — have adopted laws that prohibit employers from including questions about criminal history on job applications.

The movement has been nicknamed “ban the box,” after the box that offenders often are required to mark. Bills are pending in four other states, and at least a dozen local governments have enacted versions of the ban. Business groups have not mounted organized opposition to the measures.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/two-companies-accused-of-discriminating-in-hiring/2013/06/11/b4d4f292-c173-11e2-8bd8-2788030e6b44_story.html