EEOC Issues New Guidance On Criminal Background Checks

On April 25, 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC" or "Commission") issued new Enforcement Guidance on criminal background checks, after the Commissioners approved it in a 4-1 vote. The EEOC Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et. seq. (the "Guidance") consolidates and supersedes the Commission's 1987 and 1990 policy statements on the subject matter as well as the discussion of arrests and convictions in the agency's Race & Color Discrimination Compliance Manual Chapter.

The EEOC stated that guidance was needed to address a 2007 decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in El v. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, 479 F.3d 232 (3d Cir. 2007), that criticized past Guidance. It also said new Guidance was needed to address the rise in conviction rates generally, and the