A class action lawsuit filed in a New York federal court on August 4, 2017, could be the first of its kind to challenge alleged violations by employers of a New York City “Ban the Box” law called the Fair Chance Act (FCA), according to a press releasefrom employment law firm Outten & Golden LLP, which filed the suit along with the nonprofit organization Youth Represent.
The press release states that the lawsuit claims the defendants – Brooklyn Events Center, LLC (doing business as Barclays Center), Levy Restaurants, Inc., and Professional Sports Catering LLC – “used flawed and discriminatory criminal history screening policies and practices” to deny employment to otherwise qualified job applicants in violation of the Ban the Box law.
Lead plaintiff, Felipe Kelly, applied for a job at Barclays Center – home of the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL) – in 2016. He claims the defendants did not hire him after a background check, never said why, and did not give him the “Fair Chance Notice” required by the Ban the Box law. FULL ARTICLE