The Peace Corps asked the EEOC for an opinion on the legality of its use of conviction and arrest records to screen potential volunteers. In response, the EEOC published an informal opinion letter, which offers guidance for employers who are considering using conviction or arrest as part of their screening processes.
Conviction Records
- According to the EEOC, conviction records have the potential to have a disparate impact on African Americans and Hispanics. Therefore, employers should only use them when “job related and consistent with business necessity.”
- To ensure that applicants’ criminal history information is used in a way that is consistent with Title VII, the EEOC recommends that employers limit criminal history inquiries to convictions that are related to the specific positions in question, and that have taken place in the past seven years.
Arrest Records
- Arrest records are different than conviction records because of their inherent unreliability. For example, they are not persuasive evidence that the person engaged in the alleged conduct, and may also be poorly reported or updated.
- If employers decided that arrest records serve a useful purpose in screening applicants, their use should be limited to offenses related to the specific position.
- To account for the potential unreliability of arrest records, employers should also provide applicants a reasonable opportunity to dispute their validity.