The U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware recently alleged that the criminal history background check policy for employees at Sallie Mae Bank has a discriminatory impact on Black job applicants and employees that isn’t justified by the nature of the work sought or business necessity. Willie Gilder brought the lawsuit on behalf of himself and all Black individuals who were offered jobs by Sallie Mae but who had their offers rescinded or were fired based on the bank’s background checks. Gilder alleges he sought, was interviewed for, and received a conditional offer of employment for a collector I position in the company’s APG private credit department in 2017 and, although he provided evidence that an arrest for possession of a controlled substance never resulted in a conviction, his offer was pulled because of an “outdated manslaughter conviction” that was about 25 years old.
