Workers in Mercer County, New Jersey should pay attention to the results of a recent case against Pepsi Beverages Co. According to reports, the company was charged by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission with racial discrimination. The company had been using criminal background checks to eliminate applicants who were not convicted of crimes.

Because of this policy, the company had “disproportionately” screened more than 300 African American individuals from receiving positions with the company. In most of the cases in question, arrest records were present, but convictions were not. Others were barred from employment because of minor offenses.

The EEOC has said that using arrest and conviction records in this manner can be illegal if it is not pertinent to the position that an individual has applied for. According to the federal agency, policies such as the one used by Pepsi Beverages can limit opportunities in the job market for minorities; which often have higher conviction and arrest rates than Caucasians.

A $3.1 million payment by the company is just part of the settlement. Reports indicate that the company has adopted a new policy and will be offering jobs to any victims of the previous policy if they are qualified for the position. The company will also report its hiring practices regularly to the EEOC on top of offering anti-discrimination training to its hiring staff.

According to a spokesperson with Pepsi Beverages, which is PepsiCo’s beverage sales, manufacturing and distribution unit in the United States, the EEOC found no evidence of intentional discrimination and wants to create a diverse workplace.

According to a 2010 Society for Human Resource Management survey, approximately 73 percent of major employers always check the criminal records of job applicants. Nineteen percent do so for select job candidates.

Source: Associated Press, “Pepsi Beverages pays $3.1M in racial bias case,” Sam Hananel, Jan. 11, 2012