Willig Williams & Davidson Mentioned in SEPTA Employment Class Action Media Coverage

A new federal lawsuit alleges Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) willfully violates federal and state laws when conducting criminal background checks of prospective employees, according to Philadelphia labor and employment law firm Willig, Williams & Davidson and a coalition of legal advocates.

Willig, Williams & Davidson attorney Ryan Allen Hancock says the class action was filed in federal court in Philadelphia. The complaint accuses SEPTA, the nation’s sixth-largest public transportation system, of routinely rejecting job applicants based on information contained in reports obtained from background check companies.

According to the complaint, SEPTA fails to provide job applicants with a required “clear and conspicuous” written disclosure that it may obtain a consumer report for employment purposes.

The legal team in the case includes Philadelphia’s Willig, Williams & Davidson, the New York office of Outten & Golden LLP, Philadelphia Lawyers for Social Equity, Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and the Public Interest Law Center.

Media coverage of the employment lawsuit includes:

School bus driver sues after his city transit job application is rejected over long-ago conviction Frank Long was already working as a school bus driver in 2014 when a job offer he had gotten to drive a SEPTA bus in the Philadelphia area was rescinded. The problem was two 1997 drug-related convictions, Philly.com reported. (ABA Journal)

Lawsuit: SEPTA violated laws when conducting criminal background checks SEPTA was slammed with a federal lawsuit on Wednesday that claimed the transit agency violated federal and state laws when it conducted criminal background checks on prospective employees. Philadelphia resident and commercial bus driver Frank Long, 56, brought the lawsuit against SEPTA in Philadelphia federal court. (Philadelphia Business Journal)

SEPTA Hit With Class Action Over Background Checks A man claiming his offer of employment as a bus driver with the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority was revoked because of his criminal history has filed a class action lawsuit against SEPTA in federal court. (The Legal Intelligencer)

Philadelphia Man Files Federal Lawsuit Against SEPTA After Company Refuses To Hire Him A bus driver rejected from a job at SEPTA has filed a federal lawsuit claiming the agency misused his background check to disqualify him from the position. The complaint filed Wednesday claims SEPTA offered longtime commercial driver Frank Long a job as a bus operator in 2014, but later rescinded the job offer because of a 20-year-old drug conviction. (CBS Philly)

SEPTA Background Checks Violate Federal and State Laws, According to Outten & Golden LLP and Co-Counsel A class action lawsuit alleges SEPTA failed to comply with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in its procurement of consumer reports for employment purposes. According to the complaint, SEPTA failed to provide job applicants with a required “clear and conspicuous” written disclosure that it may obtain a consumer report for employment purposes. (Mass Transit Magazine)