Personal Injury Law

New Law Makes It Harder to Introduce Evidence of Prior Incarceration or Conviction in Negligent Hiring Claims

Under a negligent hiring theory, an employer’s liability arises from its failure to take reasonable care in making hiring decisions, thereby placing the newly hired employee in a position to cause foreseeable harm to others. The negligent hiring theory creates an incentive for employers to avoid hiring previously incarcerated individuals. To avoid such tort exposure, many employers choose not to hire ex-offenders when they apply for employment even though New York Law provides that to do so under certain circumstances constitutes unlawful discriminatory practice. The employer’s dilemna poses a serious problem for society.

Full post as published by Legal Blog on September 29, 2008 (boomark / email).