Applicant’s disclosure of armed robbery conviction protected by law, 3rd Circuit says

Central Transport, a nationwide trucking company, must face an applicant’s allegation that it violated Pennsylvania’s Criminal History Record Information Act when it denied him a job after he disclosed a 15-year-old armed robbery conviction, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals determined Wednesday.

The plaintiff in Phath v. Central Transport, LLC applied for a job with the company and was told during the hiring process that it would conduct a background check. He told the interviewers they would find the armed robbery conviction, for which he had spent six years in prison. Central Transport immediately said it would not hire him based on that, court documents said.

Pennsylvania’s ban-the-box law limits use and disclosure of criminal history information like arrests, indictments and convictions. While prospective employers may ask for the information, they may only use prior convictions in their hiring decision “to the extent to which they relate to the applicant’s suitability” for the specific job. The law also requires the employer provide written notice to an applicant if they are rejected due to their criminal history.

Central Transport argued the law did not apply because it did not seek and obtain the information from state agencies, but rather received it voluntarily from the applicant himself. But the employer only needs to receive the information for the law to apply, the 3rd Circuit determined; it “does not limit how or from whom the employer must receive it.”

Because Central Transport did not explain how the prior conviction affected the applicant’s suitability for the job or provide written notice that the decision was based on his criminal history information, it violated Pennsylvania’s law, the 3rd Circuit said. 

Central Transport did not respond to a request for comment by press time.