Ex-felons don't have right to explain records to employers - court

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday said federal law does not require employers to give job applicants with criminal convictions a chance to explain their records before turning them away.

A unanimous three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said data-processing firm SC Data Center Inc did not violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) by pulling a job offer to Ria Schumacher after a background check revealed that she had been convicted of murder and armed robbery two decades earlier.

The court said that while the FCRA gives job applicants the right to dispute the accuracy of background checks with consumer reporting agencies, it does not entitle them to discuss their records directly with employers before they are denied jobs. The 9th Circuit came to the same conclusion in a 2020 case.

Schumacher was implicated in a murder case involving a drug deal gone awry in 1996, when she was a teenager, and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, according to court filings. She was released after serving 12 years.

Schumacher's lawyers at Brown & Watkins did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nor did lawyers at Michael Best who represent SC Data.

Schumacher in a 2016 lawsuit accused SC Data of violating the FCRA by rescinding her job offer before she had a chance to view her background check and discuss it with the company.

A federal judge in Missouri in 2019 denied SC Data's motion to dismiss the claim. The judge said the FCRA's requirement that employers provide prospective workers with copies of background checks would be meaningless if job applicants did not have a right to discuss the results.

But the 8th Circuit on Tuesday said nothing in the text of the law grants workers the right to provide context to employers about their criminal histories.

"While it is true that Schumacher did not receive a copy of her report prior to rescindment of the job offer, she has not claimed the report was inaccurate," Circuit Judge Ralph Erickson wrote.

The panel included Circuit Judges Jane Kelly and Steven Grasz.

The case is Schumacher v. SC Data Center Inc, 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 19-3266.

For Schumacher: Charles Brown and Jayson Watkins of Brown & Watkins

For SC Data: Amy Bruchs of Michael Best

Read more:

Background-check disclosure to job applicants can include some extra info - 9th Circuit

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