New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman today announced his office has secured a settlement with Quest Diagnostics, Inc. (NYSE: DGX) over what he called “illegal hiring practices.”
Quest Diagnostics is a global provider of diagnostic testing, information, and services that doctors and patients use to make health-care decisions, according to the firm’s website.
Under the settlement, Quest Diagnostics has agreed to ensure that job applicants are not automatically disqualified based on prior arrests or criminal convictions and without considering mitigating factors, as required by state law, according to Schneiderman’s office.
“It’s illegal under New York law to discriminate against job applicants based solely on their history of criminal conviction and, with this settlement, Quest has now agreed to needed reform to ensure its job applicants are treated fairly. The law is specifically designed to protect those who are otherwise qualified for the jobs they are applying for,” Schneiderman said in a news release.
State law requires that employers consider a number of mitigating factors in making hiring decisions based on criminal history. The factors include the nature and gravity of an applicant’s criminal conviction and its bearing, if any, on any specific responsibilities of the job sought; the time that has elapsed since the conviction; the age of the applicant at the time when the offense was committed; and evidence of rehabilitation, according to Schneiderman’s office.
Quest has about 200 locations in New York state and employs about 42,000 people worldwide, according to the attorney general’s office.
In Central New York, Quest Diagnostics operates 13 offices, including two in Syracuse, and single locations in Clay, Camillus, Cicero, Chittenango, Cortland, Rome, New York Mills, Utica, Herkimer, Watertown, and Johnson City, according to the firm’s website.
Quest Diagnostics, headquartered in Madison, N.J., generated revenue of $7.4 billion in 2012, according to its website.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com