Robert W. Small, Partner in our Philadelphia, PA office, authored an article for the Fall 2014 edition of The Montgomery County Bar Association’s Sidebar Magazine, entitled The Use of Criminal Investigations in the Employment Process.

In the article, Mr. Small discusses the fact that many state and federal organizations classify the act of making employment decisions based on an individual’s criminal history as discrimination under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Additionally, Mr. Small reviews guidelines and recommendations set forth by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), discusses the interplay between background checks and the Federal Fair Credit Report Act (FCRA), and urges employers to not make employment-related decisions based on criminal background checks and to take the EEOC guidelines into consideration throughout the employment process.