Overview
Cohen Milstein and the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs represent James Blakney, a medical transportation driver, in a disparate impact race lawsuit against Medical Transportation Management, Inc. (“MTM”) and one of its contractors, OnTime Transportation, Inc. (“OnTime”).
The lawsuit argues that the criminal background check policy of MTM violates the local antidiscrimination laws as well as guidance issued by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. MTM’s policy resulted in Mr. Blakney’s termination without the opportunity to appeal, and with no consideration of relevant factors including the 20 years that had passed since he was arrested, the relationship of the arrest to the job requirements, and Mr. Blakney’s demonstrated ability to perform in the position. Mr. Blakney argues that MTM’s policy disparately impacts Black individuals.
Case Background
Black individuals in Washington, D.C. are arrested at rates 10 times higher than that of whites. Since the 1990s, over 90% of adults sentenced for felonies in D.C. were Black, despite only making up an average of 50% of the general population.
This lawsuit challenges MTM’s discriminatory background screening policy. While criminal background checks can serve as a legitimate tool for employers to screen their workforce, MTM’s background check policy is overly broad, irrelevant to the job function, and unduly harsh, leading to the unnecessary firing of employees, who have a demonstrated track record of honesty, reliability, or safety – criteria for successful employment.
Plaintiff James Blakney worked as a medical transportation driver for the defendants for three years without issue. During this time, he disclosed his arrest for assault, which was subsequently reduced, whereupon he pled guilty to a misdemeanor destruction of property conviction with a suspended sentence and two-year probation, during the annual criminal background checks. In 2024, Mr. Blakney submitted his regular, and unchanged, background check. MTM’s internal credentialing system disqualified him from transportation services due to this two-decade old arrest, effectively terminating Mr. Blakney.
Mr. Blakney began working as a full-time van driver for MTM and OnTime in 2021. In this role, he transported clients – typically dialysis patients and adults with intellectual disabilities – to and from their health appointments and classes in D.C. Mr. Blakney drove clients every Monday to Friday and every other Saturday for over three years. This added up to over 8,000 hours of driving across some of the busiest parts of D.C., ensuring that clients made their appointments on time and that they returned safely home afterwords.
At no point before 2024 did Mr. Blakney’s arrest and conviction record raise an issue for MTM. However, pursuant to MTM’s apparent zero-tolerance policy for violent convictions or even charges for crimes of violence, no matter how old and with no regard to demonstrated job performance, Mr. Blakney was terminated.
Neither MTM nor OnTime provided a legitimate business justification for his termination. When Mr. Blakney called MTM regarding his background check, they refused to speak with him.