September

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority has been named in a lawsuit after the class members claim its background check policies are unfair. The plaintiffs claim the defendants ' actions have disproportionately affected African American applicants resulting in the unnecessary firing of current employees who have a demonstrated track record of successful employment and the denial of employment to applicants who are well-qualified to perform the jobs at issue safely and effectively. The plaintiffs claim the policy disqualifies many job applicants and employees based on criminal history that is not related to the job or occurred so long ago that it is irrelevant.

"LexisNexis Risk Solutions Inc. has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit alleging its Esteem ""retail theft contributory database"" wrongfully labels job seekers as criminals even if they have not been convicted of a crime. The background check class action settlement was approved by a Pennsylvania federal judge who found the settlement terms were ""sufficiently fair, reasonable and adequate for preliminary approval."" Under the terms of the class action settlement, LexisNexis agreed to suspend the Esteem database. LexisNexis has also agreed to implement more stringent requirements to protect job seekers if it decides to use the Esteem database for employment background check purposes in the future."

Starting on September 30, 2014, New Hampshire employers will be precluded from requesting or requiring that an employee or prospective employee disclose login information for accessing any personal online account or service. The new law does have several exceptions. Employers may request logins and passwords: (1) for an account or service provided by virtue of the employee's employment relationship with the employer, (2) for an electronic communications device or online account paid for or supplied by the employer, (3) to conduct an investigation, and (4) to otherwise comply with the law.