Anne Bucher  |  July 7, 2016

Category: Closed Class Actions

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2010 Decennial Census settlement

A settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit alleging the U.S. Census Bureau discriminated against African Americans and Latinos by using certain background check procedures to screen applicants who were seeking temporary employment during the 2010 decennial census.

If you are African American or Latino and you applied for a temporary job during the 2010 decennial census hiring, and you did not advance due to the criminal background check process, your rights may be affected by the background check class action settlement.

If approved, this settlement will resolve a background check class action lawsuit that was initially filed in April 2010. The plaintiffs assert that they were subject to discrimination and that they were denied the opportunity to compete for temporary jobs for the 2010 decennial census due to the Census’s criminal background screening process. The class action lawsuit accused Census of violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The plaintiffs filed a third amended complaint on Sept. 16, 2014 and a judge granted Class certification on Oct. 2, 2014.

Census denies any wrongdoing but agreed to settle the background check class action lawsuit to avoid the expense and uncertainty of ongoing litigation. The census class action settlement was preliminarily approved on April 22, 2016.

Under the terms of the proposed 2010 decennial census class action settlement, Census has agreed to change its background check process for making hiring decisions. It has also agreed to create benefits for individual Class Members for the upcoming decennial census through either a records clearance process or advance notice of hiring.

Class Members who wish to object to the census settlement must do so no later than Aug. 11, 2016.

Who’s Eligible

Class Members include African American or Latino job applicants who applied for a temporary position with the 2010 decennial census but who did not advance past the criminal background check stage of the hiring process.

Potential Award

Class Members of the census settlement can choose between two types of relief: (1) participation in a Records Assistance Project to help resolve issues on their criminal background records, or (2) receiving early notice of the commencement of hiring for temporary jobs for the 2020 decennial census.

Proof of Purchase

Class Members must provide their Claimant ID Number when submitting a Claim Form online. This number is located on the postcard or email notice you received.

If you do not have a Claimant ID Number, you may contact the Settlement Administrator at 1-866-759-6517.

A PDF version of the Claim Form is also available here.

Claim Form

CLICK HERE TO FILE A CLAIM »

Claim Form Deadline

09/10/2016

Case Name

Anthony Gonzalez, et al. v. Penny Pritzker, Case No. 1:10-cv-03105-FM, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York

Final Hearing

09/19/2016

Settlement Website

www.CensusClassActionSettlement.com

Claims Administrator

Census Settlement Administrator
c/o Rust Consulting
P.O. Box 2518
Faribault, MN 55021-9518
1-866-759-6517

Class Counsel

OUTTEN & GOLDEN LLP
LAWYERS’ COMMITTEE FOR CIVIL RIGHTS UNDER LAW
COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES OF PHILADELPHIA
COMMUNITY SERVICE SOCIETY OF NEW YORK
THE INDIAN LAW RESOURCES CENTER OF HELENA, MONTANA
LATINOJUSTICE PRLDEF
CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

Defense Counsel

Preet Bharara
Louis A. Pellegrino
Tara M. LaMorte
Elizabeth M. Tulis
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

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6 thoughts on2010 Decennial Census Background Check Class Action Settlement

  1. Jeanine Silas says:

    I never received my money and I think that even if I forgot I should have not been forgotten

  2. Sharon Styles says:

    Class Axtion is there a status update?

  3. Virgie Bartee says:

    This is bull, I filed and passed the test to take the census for 2010, on the application it ask if you had committed a crime/felon in the last 7 years, I answered no. My charges were 10 years old, I was turned down for having a record ,PERIOD. I called and was told I did not have the time to hire an attorney and get the job. That it would make no difference,, so it is not about race it is about, discrimination over criminal records. Now the American Bar Asso. IS discriminating against ALL WHITES!!!! Laws of discrimination were broke, that should be the case they are fighting, not the race of the applicants.

  4. rejected unfairly says:

    I think this is unfair to races beside African American and Latino because other races were turned down also. I had a record before I was of age and I was told that when I got of age my record would be wiped clean and when I found out it had not been, I went to see the Judge and he ordered my record wiped out but someone had already published my records and the Census Bureau turned me down because I said I did not have a record because the Judge told me they were wiped clean.

  5. thisisdumb says:

    I was a human resource clerk for the census back then. I helped hire about 2k people. We did not exclude based on race! This is bunk.

  6. Mary Anne Malandrino says:

    In the year 2010 I made my usual complaint about the census being conducted door to door by the department of probations intensive supervision program. Did it occur to anyone that those of us who do not approve of this this type of criminal endangerment or solicitation would like to know if grounds for these individuals not passing their background checks were warranted from the vantage point of public safety.

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