A 56-year-old Philadelphia resident has filed a pre-employment discrimination lawsuit against SEPTA after his offer of employment was rescinded following a criminal background check. The job applicant was working as a school bus driver when he applied for a job with SEPTA. According to his claim, SEPTA violated federal employment law by misusing his criminal history to deny him a job despite the fact that his only conviction was almost 20 years old and irrelevant to the position he had been offered. The job applicant’s background check revealed a felony conviction for possession and manufacture of a controlled substance. He was arrested in 1994, sentenced in 1997, and spent two years in jail. Since then, he has been working as a driver in Philadelphia.
Federal, state and municipal laws concerning how criminal records affect employment have been evolving recently. Pending legislation in Pennsylvania would automatically expunge misdemeanor offenses from criminal records after ten years. People who have made mistakes, paid their debt to society and turned their lives around are often unfairly and unlawfully discriminated against when applying for a job.
If you have been denied an opportunity because of an irrelevant criminal history, call Sidney L. Gold & Associates at 215-569-1999 or contact us online for a free consultation. Our experienced Philadelphia employment lawyers will review your case to determine your best course of legal action.
