Re: Discrimination

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Generally speaking, if you are an employee at will you can be
fired for any or no reason, including your employer's receipt
of negative information on the background check. You
indicated you were hired "pending" a background check. That
seems to suggest, you knew at the time of hire that a
negative background report might end your employment. It is
unclear whether you disclosed your DUI conviction(s) on the
application. If you lied on the application, that is yet
another basis for the employer to let you go. You ask whether
you are being discriminated against. You need to understand
that not all discrimination is illegal. It is illegal to
discriminate against people because of their age, sex, race,
national origin, disability or other legally protected
status. It is not illegal to discriminate against people
because they lie on their employment applications or have
criminal records. People who have criminal records are not
entitled under the law to any protected status simply because
they broke the law and were caught.

You have not identified any reasons that suggest your firing
was for illegal reasons. However, sometimes even when an
employer has a neutral rule (e.g., no criminal record) which
disqualifies people from employment, the rule may have a
disparate impact on a protected class of people. The adverse
impact analysis has been recognized by the courts, for
example, when police departments have height and weight
requirements for recruits which disparately impact and tend
to exclude women, who, as a class, tend to be smaller then
men.

If this analysis applied in your situation and if you are a
member of the protected class disparately impacted, you might
have a viable claim. You should review the situation with a
local attorney to see whether there is any basis under your
state law to challenge your firing. In the future, you should
be candid and truthful with prospective employers on the
employment application. While you may find it difficult to
ever obtain employment in a field that requires on the job
driving given your DUI record, many employers would not
disqualify you from other employment.

Good luck.

Cucchiara Employment Law Offices

Re: Discrimination, 3/22/04, by Joe Blow.

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