The civil rights group is launching civil action against several employment sites for discrimination against people who have served prison time
The NAACP is taking action against companies who use digital recruiting services. In a new lawsuit, the social activist organization claims several companies violated New York City laws by deliberately not hiring ex-convicts. This practice affects Black people more often than any other ethnic group.
Filed in Manhattan court, the NAACP said companies like Dutch electronics maker Koninklijke Philips NV and pest control company Advance Tech, among others, break city and state laws that prohibit businesses from refusing to review applications from candidates who’ve been convicted of crimes. It’s also alleged the practice of the policy works to keep Blacks unemployed since New York’s prison population is more than half black. More defendants will be added to the suit in the coming days.
Reuters reports the whole lawsuit is based on an alleged job posting from Philips in tweetmyjobs.com, which specifically asked for a network engineer with “zero felony convictions.”
Job sites like Indeed, Monster, and ZipRecruiter were named as well.
ZipRecruiter and Monster have yet to comment on the suit, but a spokesperson for Recall Holdings said the company was reviewing the lawsuit and was “committed to fair and equitable recruitment and employment practices.”
-Jonathan Bailey(@JaySpeakEasy_)
