AGG Compliance News Flash – October 14, 2019

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and Dollar General announced they have reached a settlement regarding the EEOC’s allegations that Dollar General’s criminal background check policy discriminated against job applicants. The parties have not released settlement details, but the deal is said to resolve “all claims.” The EEOC brought an enforcement action against Dollar General in June of 2013, claiming that the company’s background screening procedures had a disparate impact on black applicants in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. The EEOC’s suit alleged that Dollar General’s failure to consider factors such as age at the time of the offense, and whether there was a nexus between the crime and the applicant’s potential job duties, resulted in about 10% of black applicants being denied employment, compared with about 7% of non-black applicants.

The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA or “Association”) filed suit against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS). The Association filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to enjoin USCIS from proceeding with their plan to stop accepting current versions of Forms I-485, I-129, I-539, I-864, and I-894EZ if postmarked on or after October 15, 2019, even though USCIS did not publish the forms on their website until days before the new forms were to be effective. Click here to read the compliant. On October 11, 2019, judges in three separate cases before U.S. District Courts for the Southern District of New York, Northern District of California, and Eastern District of Washington enjoined the Department of Homeland Security from implementing and enforcing the final rule related to the public charge ground of inadmissibility under section 212(a)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and postponed the effective date of the final rule until there is final resolution in the cases. Two of the injunctions are nationwide and prevent USCIS from implementing the rule anywhere in the United States. Until final decisions in these cases are issued or the injunction is lifted, USCIS will accept the versions of these forms on its website. Click here and here to read more.

Arnall Golden Gregory’s Annual Employment Law Seminar will take place Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre from 8:00 am – 3:00 pm. Attorneys from Arnall Golden Gregory LLP (AGG) will speak, as well as, host interactive discussions on topics such as classifying employees, employee benefits, employment policies and handbooks, employee termination, marijuana and other drugs in the workplace, and immigration worksite enforcement. Complimentary breakfast and lunch will be provided and CLE, HRCI and CPE credits have been applied for. Click here to register by Thursday, October 17, 2019 to secure your seat!

AGG will participate in and lead a webinar hosted by TazWorks as part of their compliance series entitled, “FCRA? CCPA? How and When Do They Apply to My Organization?” The webinar will take place on October 30th at 2:00 pm EST. Montserrat Miller and Erin Doyle of AGG will address the differences between employment screening and tenant screening under the FCRA, treatment of independent contractors and volunteers under the FCRA, whether government agencies are considered consumer reporting agencies under the FCRA, restrictions around reporting information procured through SSN Trace searches, and an overview of the interplay between the FCRA and the CCPA focusing on the recent CCPA amendments. Click here to register for the webinar.