2014

"Although it is called ""social"" media, individuals using online services such as Facebook or Twitter should not be required to divulge information they wish to keep private, said Senate Majority Leader Dominick J. Ruggerio and Rep. Brian Patrick Kennedy. Nor should potential employers or school admissions officers ask applicants to provide their log-in information or to sign into their social media accounts so an interviewer can view their on-line activities. The 2014 Student and Employee Social Media Privacy acts will bar employers from demanding social media-related materials of job applicants, and will establish similar prohibitions for colleges as they consider prospective students."

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."