News and Announcements

Bullseye on Hiring Bias

May 2, 2018 / Media Coverage

After coming under fire for what critics said was racially biased hiring practices, Target Corp. recently agreed to pay out nearly $4 million and to re-examine how it utilizes criminal-background screening. A judge signed off on the settlement April 5 in a class-action lawsuit led by individuals with criminal records who were denied employment by Target, an agreement that also addressed a complaint filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The plaintiffs, represented by the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund Inc. and Outten & Golden, contended that Target’s criminal-...

Target reaches settlement in employment discrimination suit

Apr 6, 2018 / Media Coverage

Target has reached a settlement with plaintiffs who sued the retailer, claiming racial and ethnic discrimination in its hiring practices. The company has agreed to pay $3.74 million and upgrade its hiring practices, although it did not admit to any wrongdoing. The lawsuit alleged that Target's practice of using criminal background checks served to exclude racial minorities from its workforce. The plaintiffs charged that Target had "imported the racial and ethnic disparities" present in the criminal justice system into its hiring process. The result, the suit charged, was job applicants were...

Target settles suit claiming its hiring system discriminated

Apr 6, 2018 / Media Coverage

Target has agreed to settle a lawsuit that said its hiring process, which automatically rejected people with criminal backgrounds, disproportionately kept blacks and Hispanics from getting entry-level jobs at its stores. As part of the settlement, Target will pay more than $3.7 million and will hire outside experts to review how it deals with applicants who have criminal backgrounds. According to the lawsuit, blacks and Hispanics were harmed by the hiring system because they are arrested and incarcerated at higher rates than whites. The suit cited “systemic discrimination in the criminal...

Target to Pay $3.7 Million in Settlement Over Job-Screening Policies

Apr 6, 2018 / Media Coverage

Retailer says it has since revised its hiring practices, removing the criminal-history question from its employment application Target Corp. has agreed to pay more than $3.7 million and overhaul job-screening guidelines for hourly workers to resolve a civil-rights class-action complaint that alleged the company’s policies regarding criminal-background checks were too broad and discriminated against African-Americans and Latinos. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, which was filed in Manhattan federal court, Target is to give priority hiring rights to African-Americans and Latinos who...

Target Settles Lawsuit Over Claims It Screened Blacks, Hispanics Out Of Jobs

Apr 5, 2018 / Media Coverage

Target has agreed to pay $3.7 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over allegations that its use of criminal background checks kept thousands of black and Hispanic job applicants from getting employment. It resolves claims that the mega-retailer violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating based on race, gender and other characteristics. As part of the settlement, eligible African-American and Latino applicants who denied employment from a Target store because of a criminal background check since May 2006 will be eligible for priority...

Target agrees to $3.7M settlement over job-screening bias claim

Apr 5, 2018 / Media Coverage

Target Corp. has agreed to pay $3.7 million to settle a lawsuit that accused the retailer's criminal background checks of disproportionately keeping Latinos and black applicants from employment. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, claimed that Target (NYSE: TGT) violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans employers from discriminating against employees on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion. The suit bases its claims on Target's background checks to screen applicants for prior convictions, "many of which are unrelated to the job...

After bias claims, Target to review how it screens job applicants

Apr 5, 2018 / Media Coverage

Target agreed Thursday to revise guidelines for how it screens people seeking jobs at its stores, a step meant to quell complaints that the retailer discriminates against black and Hispanic applicants with criminal records that can include offenses too minor or old to affect their performance as employees. The move comes in a labor market so tight that companies are hiring applicants they would not have considered before, including people who have criminal records or, in some cases, are still incarcerated. Those pressing the complaints against Target said the agreement announced Thursday...

Target to pay $3.7M in racial bias lawsuit

Apr 5, 2018 / Media Coverage

Target has agreed to pay a $3.7 million settlement in a lawsuit claiming racial bias in background checks, according to new court papers. The retail giant’s settlement was filed Thursday in Manhattan Federal Court, alongside a class action lawsuit filed by former job applicants over pre-employment screenings. Carnella Times and Erving Smith claimed in their complaint that they received conditional employment offers from Target – which were later rescinded after background checks turned up decades-old convictions. Times and Smith, who are both black, and The Fortune Society, a Queens-based...

Target settles suit over asking job applicants about criminal records

Apr 5, 2018 / Media Coverage

Target reached a $3.74 million settlement in a class-action suit Thursday that alleged the retail giant's hiring process unfairly discriminated against African Americans and Latinos. The lawsuit, which was filed by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund and two individuals on behalf of a group of job applicants, said the retail giant has used hiring policies that "exclude applicants with arrest or irrelevant conviction records from obtaining employment opportunities" and the process has "a disparate impact on African Americans and Latinos." The NAACP Legal Defense Fund alleged that Target ( TGT ) asked...

Target to pay $3.74 million to settle claims that it discriminated against black, Latino job applicants

Apr 5, 2018 / Media Coverage

Target has agreed to pay $3.74 million to settle claims that its background criminal checks discriminated against thousands of black and Latino applicants. The retailer says it will also review the way it screens jobs candidates for hourly positions at its stores. The class-action lawsuit and settlement, both filed Thursday, stem from a 2006 complaint against the retailer filed on behalf of Carnella Times, who received a job offer from Target to work as an overnight stocker in South Windsor, Conn., that was later rescinded after the company’s background check found that she had two...

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