TGT Target Corp

By Maria Armental 

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, pending court approval, Target is to give priority hiring rights to African-Americans and Latinos who applied for jobs starting around May 11, 2006, but were ultimately denied employment based on pre-employment background checks. Those who have since retired or otherwise couldn't benefit from the program due to a number of reasons, such as family-medical and military-service obligations, would be eligible to receive up to $1,000.

Target would pay up to $1.2 million toward the cash awards, according to the agreement.

The actual number of people who would be covered by the settlement has yet to be determined. According to the proposed settlement, more than 41,000 African-American and Latino applicants were denied jobs based on the criminal-history screening process from May 2008 to December 2016.

The Minnesota-based retailer also agreed to donate $600,000 to nonprofit organizations working with released prisoners, including the Fortune Society.

The complaint was filed in 2006 in Manhattan federal court on behalf of Carnella Times and Erving Smith, who had received conditional job offers that were revoked following the criminal-background screening process, and the Fortune Society, a New York City-based advocacy organization that provides support for ex-prisoners. The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund and law firm Outten & Golden LLP represented the plaintiffs.

"Criminal background information can be a legitimate tool for screening job applicants, but only when appropriately linked to relevant questions such as how long ago the offense occurred and whether it was a nonviolent or misdemeanor offense," said Sherrilyn Ifill, NAACP Legal Defense Fund president and director-counsel, in a statement.

Target, the country's second-largest retailer after Walmart with more than 1,800 stores, said in a statement that it has since revised its hiring practices, removing the criminal-history question from its employment application.

"However, as part of our commitment to safety and security, we still believe it is important to consider an individual's criminal conviction history as part of the overall hiring process," Target said in the emailed statement, noting it now gathers such information in the final stages of the hiring process and job applicants can give additional information, such as mitigating factors.

"This ensures individuals are considered for employment based on their qualifications, interview and availability," the statement said.

Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 05, 2018 20:00 ET (00:00 GMT)

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