Latino Job Applicant Denied Employment for Unrelated, Ten Year Old Conviction

Roberto Arroyo had been working for Chicago-based Accenture LLP as a contract employee for about a year and a half when the firm offered him full-time employment “subject only to the results of a background check.” After the background check, Accenture withdrew the employment offer and terminated Arroyo’s contract, based on a 10 year old conviction for vehicular homicide; Arroyo paid his debt to society by spending two and a half years in prison for his crime.

Arroyo has now sued Accenture, claiming that the consulting firm violated his civil rights by importing discrimination in the criminal justice system into the private employment sector. The civil rights claim is based on the fact that African-American and Latino males are disproportionately convicted and sentenced to time in prison as compared to their white male counterparts.

According to the lawsuit:“As a result of these statistical disparities, restrictions on hiring individuals with criminal records have a far more severe effect on African-Americans and Latinos than on whites.” The suit is seeking class action status.

The civil rights act does state that “where significant racial disparity exists, the use of criminal history can be considered only where the employer can prove that the particular crime at issue is related to the particular job in question.” Arroyo does not feel that his previous conviction bears any relation to his employment with Accenture.

The law office of Callahan & Blaine is California’s premier litigation firm, specializing in class action employment lawsuits like the Accenture civil rights class action. In a similar class action employment law case that took place in Orange county, California, Callahan & Blaine lawyers negotiated a $42 million settlement for a group paper carriers denied employment rights by the Orange County Register.

If you believe you have been wrongfully terminated or discriminated against by an employer, contact California’s premier litigation firm, Callahan & Blaine, to discuss your employment law case today.

Jake Gosselin