First Transit sued over criminal background checks

Cincinnati-based First Transit faces charges that its policy barring all applicants who have a felony conviction disparately impacts minorities and therefore violates the Civil Rights Act.

A class of job applicants has sued the company in a Northern California federal court. First Transit contracts to provide municipal bus and medical transportation services across the United States.

The class of applicants is led by Adrienne Hudson, who claims her 2002 conviction for welfare fraud cost her a position with the company after she quit another job to accept one with First Transit. The conviction was expunged from her record after she completed all court-imposed requirements.

The Amalgamated Transit Union is supporting Hudson in her suit.