The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) claims that BMW and Dollar General have engaged in discriminatory employment practices against blacks:

The commission said BMW effectively fired 70 black employees with criminal histories from a facility in South Carolina, even though many had been there for years. One woman with 14 years under her belt was let go after a misdemeanor conviction surfaced that was more than 20 years old and carried a $137 fine, according to the EEOC’s lawsuit.

The agency also alleged that retailer Dollar General revoked job offers to two black women after conducting criminal background checks. In one case, the EEOC said that the records were inaccurate but that Dollar General declined to reconsider the woman’s application. The other involved a six-year-old drug conviction.

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Although the commission said employers are allowed to conduct background checks, it charged that the companies’ blanket policies of not hiring candidates with criminal records amounted to discrimination against African Americans. Justice Department statistics show that blacks accounted for 37 percent of those behind bars last year, even though they make up only 13 percent of the U.S. population.

Read more at The Washington Post.

This news is especially troubling given the increased number of blacks, especially black youth, going through the criminal justice system. If blacks with non-violent criminal records cannot get or maintain jobs, then how can they avoid going back to jail? Thoughts on this report? Sound off below!!!!