In 2013, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed suit against Dollar General, alleging the retailer’s use of criminal background checks disparately impacted African-American applicants in violation of Title VII. Specifically, the lawsuit claimed the business purported “gross disparity in the rates at which Black and non-Black conditional employees were discharged.” The terms of a class-wide settlement must still be approved by the federal court, but requires programmatic relief in addition to a monetary payment. Specifically, the retailer can continue to consider applicants’ and employees’ criminal conviction history for employment purposes only if it agrees not to violate anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation laws, and if it complies with numerous requirements.
