A criminal conviction shouldn’t weigh heavier than a skillset, and it’s time for major companies to enforce better assessments of qualifications. Amazon.com Inc and The Gap are facing proposed class-action lawsuits for allegedly violating the New York state law that prohibits employers from denying jobs based on an individual’s criminal record. Plaintiff Genevieve Suarez claims that Amazon and The Gap disqualified both potential and current employees for having a criminal record while failing to address how these convictions could impact performance.
The New York law states that a criminal charge is not a disqualifying factor for job applicants unless there is a direct relationship between the conviction and the job itself, with the exception of violent criminal charges. Suarez was convicted of welfare fraud in 2017, a misdemeanor charge that arguably lacks correlation to her positions under review at Amazon and The Gap. Both companies failed to conduct individualized inquiries and fired workers for no other reason than their criminal charges.
Suarez claims that The Gap employed her then fired her several weeks later upon discovering her 2017 misdemeanor conviction. She also said that Amazon conducted a background check and failed to consider her for multiple positions within the corporation—a clear violation of the New York state law. Amazon was accused of disproportionately firing Black and Latino drivers with criminal records last year, and in 2018 they were accused of conducting background checks that violated federal law. Although Amazon denied any unlawful activity, it’s safe to assume that the corporation needs to reevaluate its job qualifications and put an end to discriminatory hiring practices.
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