Brooklyn, MI asked in Employment Discrimination and Employment Law for Michigan

Q: Can I sue for discrimination on a background check?

I have no felonies on my record that the public can see. That means it won’t come up on a background check whatsoever. But I received a call and the persOn conducting the report asked me about something that happened back in 2015 which was literally dismissed by my judge and i was removed from probation in 2016. He questioned me about it and I know it’s never been on my public record and besides that it’s been off my record for almost three years. I even have a case AFTER that, that he didn’t ask me about because of Michigan HTYA probation act. If I don’t get the job is this legal?

1 Lawyer Answer

A: Employers, generally, can hire or fire people for almost any reason except for reason of protected status (e.g. race, gender, religion). We live in an age where people are fired, and then not hired, for tweets.

But here's where you stand now: 1) a final decision hasn't been made, 2) if you don't get the job, how can you prove that the decision was made based on this criminal record?

Lastly, it's quite possible that the employer accessed ICHAT records which may have shown an arrest record for your 2015 incident, even though the case was presumably dismissed.

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