A lawsuit brought by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) alleges Dollar General denied employment to African American candidates at a significantly higher rate than white applicants based on criminal background checks. The retailer was ordered to pay $6 million after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago ruled that it violated the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The EEOC suggests that employers “eliminate policies or practices that exclude people from employment based on any criminal record” to avoid compliance issues.
