Bed Bath & Beyond shelves ex-con no-hire policy

Bed Bath & Beyond, a national retailer with 62 stores in New York, has reached a settlement with New York”™s attorney general over its employment policy with respect to job applicants with criminal convictions.

The settlement, announced Tuesday by state Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, requires the company to comply with state laws that prohibit the automatic disqualification of job candidates with criminal convictions and require employers to individually consider applicants with criminal records.

Schneiderman said the attorney general’s office began an investigation after a human resources manager for Bed Bath & Beyond at a job fair passed out information stating the company did not hire individuals with felony convictions, regardless of any evidence of rehabilitation.  Investigators found that Bed Bath & Beyond, headquartered in Union, N.J., had automatically disqualified job applicants with felony convictions in violation of New York law.

The company, which operates more than 1,000 stores nationwide, will pay a total of $125,000 in relief. Of that, $40,000 will be awarded as restitution to individuals unlawfully denied employment with the company and $15,000 will be paid to three organizations that provide job training and placement services for people with criminal records.

Schneiderman in the announcement said the settlement “puts employers on notice that slamming the door on job seekers based on past conduct without deciding whether that conduct is relevant to the current job is not only wrong ”“ it”™s unlawful.”

Bed Bath & Beyond agreed to make periodic reports to the attorney general”™s civil rights bureau to ensure compliance with the law.