chanel
Silver Member
Paying $17.75 an hour, U.S. Census jobs, though temporary, are attractive in an economy where unemployment is stuck at 9.7 percent. But the Census Bureau's screening policies, designed to safeguard the public, end up discriminating against minorities, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday.
That's because the bureau has set up an "arbitrary barrier to employment" for any person with an arrest record, "no matter how trivial or disconnected from the requirements of the job," the lawsuit, filed in Manhattan, says. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke is named as the defendant.
The national suit, filed by Outten & Golden L.L.P. in New York and a coalition of public-interest organizations, seeks class-action status on behalf of those turned down for a job if they were arrested and not convicted, or convicted for an offense irrelevant to the job.
Phila. woman at center of census lawsuit | Philadelphia Inquirer | 04/14/2010
"Arbitrary barrier"? Like "Hey - we don't want rapists knocking on our doors"?
With unemployment skyrocketing, EVERY employer including the govt., should be able to choose the best. They have welfare to take care of them while Joe Q. Public's UI may be running out.