Allentown Morning Call (Pennsylvania) (01/06/12) Kennedy, Sam

Integrity Staffing Solutions has settled a discrimination lawsuit brought by an African-American man convicted of manslaughter almost 30 years ago, after Integrity denied him a job at Amazon.com because of his criminal record. “Employment policies that impose a blanket exclusion on people with past convictions, without any consideration of the relationship of the conviction to the job in question, can constitute unlawful discrimination,” says Jennifer Clarke, executive director of the Public Interest Law Center of Philadelphia.

The Public Interest Law Center says ISS “has reaffirmed its policy of providing equal employment opportunity for people with past criminal convictions” and “also has further reemphasized to supervisors and personnel engaged in the hiring process the importance of and appropriate review of a job applicant’s criminal convictions.” ISS declined to discuss the matter.