Elmsford medical worker says criminal record is no reason for job denial

An Elmsford medical worker is suing a healthcare company for revoking a job offer because she has a criminal record.

Leslie Arone accused Sameday Health Inc. of discrimination in a Dec. 8 complaint filed in U.S. District Court in White Plains, for rescinding a job offer “solely on the basis of her criminal convictions that have no direct relationship to the position to be held.”

Arone “has not had any issues with law enforcement since her release from prison in mid-June 2017,” the complaint states, and she has been “a productive and law-abiding citizen of New York.”

She was convicted three times from 2014 to 2016, on charges of operating a motor vehicle under the influence of drugs or alcohol and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, in Saratoga and Warren counties.

The last conviction concerned a 2015 incident in which she crashed a SUV while impaired by drugs. Arone, then 47, was charged with a felony because of the previous DUI conviction, the Albany Times Union reported.

She was sentenced to one to three years in prison, according to a state Department of Corrections record, and was released in June 2017 from Albion Correctional Facility.

Since then, she has been certified as a phlebotomy technician and as a medical assistant. She has held positions with the Westchester Broadway Theatre gift shop, Westchester Medical Center and Northwell urgent care.

This past May, the complaint states, the state Department of Corrections issued her a certificate of good conduct that restored her right to employment and licensure.

That same month, she applied for a position as a certified medical assistant with Sameday.

On June 3, Sameday allegedly offered her a position in White Plains at $25 an hour or $52,000 a year, but she still had to go through a backgrounding process.

She was cleared for work on July 7, according to the complaint.

But that day she also received an email from Maerly Payroll Processing, a Westlake, California company that handled her application, revoking the job offer due to her criminal history and an email from Sameday that allegedly stated, “You cannot have a felony on your record if you work here.”

Arone’s attorney, Stefanie Shmil, argues that the revocation violated New York State Executive Law and New York State Correction Law that specify that an individual may not be denied employment for previous criminal convictions unless there is a direct relationship between the criminal offenses and the job, or there is an unreasonable risk to property or public safety.

There is no direct relationship between Arone’s convictions and the duties of a medical assistant, the complaint states, and Sameday and Maerly failed to consider the circumstances, such as her recent record of gainful employment .

Arone is demanding damages for lost wages and benefits and for injury to her reputation.

Sameday spokeswoman Avani Johnson said in an email that the Venice, California company “has no comment” on the lawsuit.

Maerly did not respond to an email requesting its side of the story.