News and Announcements

School bus driver sues after his city transit job application is rejected over long-ago conviction

Apr 27, 2016 / Media Coverage

Frank Long was already working as a school bus driver in 2014 when a job offer he had gotten to drive a SEPTA bus in the Philadelphia area was rescinded. The problem was two 1997 drug-related convictions, Philly.com reported. Now the 56-year-old is suing the transit agency, contending that its misuse of criminal background information violates federal employment law. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in federal court, seeks class-action status on behalf of all applicants rejected for SEPTA jobs because of background-check information that was allegedly improperly obtained or analyzed. “I’ve lived...

Lawsuit Claims SEPTA Hiring Practices Violate Law

Apr 27, 2016 / Media Coverage

Class-action suit alleges the transit agency disqualifies job applicants with unrelated felonies EPTA violates federal and state laws when conducting background checks on prospective employees, alleges a class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday. The lawsuit alleges SEPTA routinely violates the state Criminal History Record Information Act by disqualifying job applicants with unrelated felony convictions from employment in positions involving the operation of SEPTA vehicles. It also claims SEPTA fails to provide job applicants "clear and conspicuous" written disclosure necessary to obtain consumer...

SEPTA sued over background checks for prospective hires

Apr 27, 2016 / Media Coverage

Philadelphia resident Frank Long applied to be a SEPTA bus driver in October 2014. At the time, Long, 56, had been working as a school bus driver and, given that experience, SEPTA extended a job offer provided he clear a criminal background check. But the check came back with a 1994 arrest on drug charges and a 1997 conviction for possession. Long's job offer, consequently, was revoked. Months later, SEPTA sent Long a letter stating that the reneging was "based on its hiring criteria." A new federal lawsuit seeking class-action status claims those hiring requirements violate state and federal...

Lawsuit: SEPTA violated laws when conducting criminal background checks

Apr 27, 2016 / Media Coverage

SEPTA was slammed with a federal lawsuit on Wednesday that claimed the transit agency violated federal and state laws when it conducted criminal background checks on prospective employees. Philadelphia resident and commercial bus driver Frank Long, 56, brought the lawsuit against SEPTA in Philadelphia federal court, accusing the transit agency of rejecting job applicants based on information contained in reports obtained from background check companies. The lawsuit alleges SEPTA did not comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and that it failed to provide applicants with a so-called "clear...

Rejected bus driver sues SEPTA over background checks

Apr 27, 2016 / Media Coverage

A school bus driver turned away from a job as a SEPTA bus operator because of drug conviction dating back nearly 20 years filed a federal lawsuit against the transit agency Wednesday. The suit said that SEPTA routinely misuses criminal history information turned up in background checks to eliminate potential employees, even when the offenses happened long ago and are irrelevant to the job. SEPTA said it was looking into the lawsuit and had no immediate comment. The suit said SEPTA's background check and criminal histories violate federal employment laws. The suit comes as state, federal and...

SEPTA Background Checks Violate Federal and State Laws, According to Outten & Golden LLP and Co-Counsel

Apr 27, 2016 / Press Release

PHILADELPHIA and NEW YORK — A new federal lawsuit alleges Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) willfully violates federal and state laws when conducting criminal background checks of prospective employees, says Outten & Golden LLP and a coalition of legal advocates. Filed in federal court in Philadelphia, the class action accuses SEPTA, the nation’s sixth-largest public transportation system, of routinely rejecting job applicants based on information contained in reports obtained from background check companies. The lawsuit alleges SEPTA fails to comply with the...

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