Target sued for checking arrest records of new hires: Class action

By Jonathan Bilyk | Legal Newsline
The Center Square

CHICAGO — Target has been hit by a new class action lawsuit accusing it of violating Illinois state law by conducting criminal background checks on new hires.

Attorneys from the firm of Caffarelli & Associates, of Chicago, filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court on Feb. 17. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of named plaintiff Courtney McElrath-Bey.

According to published reports, McElrath-Bey, then 33, was arrested in 2024 of robbing another woman in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood in the summer of 2023. According to the reports, McElrath-Bey allegedly was among a group of people who allegedly took property from a 30-year-old woman by force in the 400 block of East 66th Street.

However, according to the lawsuit, McElrath-Bey claims Target allegedly violated her civil rights under Illinois state law by using arrest records obtained in a background check to decide whether to ultimately hire her to work at its distribution center on South Pulaski in October 2025.

According to the complaint, McElrath-Bey said she applied to work at the facility as an “order picker or warehouse associate.”

McElrath-Bey said Target ultimately extended her an employment offer, subject to completing a background check. A week later, however, Target allegedly sent her a “‘Pre-Adverse Action Notification’ informing her that her background check … identified two pending criminal charges (arrest records) against her…”

According to the complaint, McElrath-Bey provided Target with “additional information” about the arrest records, “explaining that the two charges were currently pending, she had not been convicted, and she was innocent of the charges.”

She allegedly included “supporting documentation along with her request for reconsideration.”

Target, however, rescinded her job offer, saying she “did not provide additional information for us to consider regarding your offense(s).”

McElrath-Bey asserts Targets claims were “false” and violated an Illinois state law blocking employers from using such arrest records as a basis on which to refuse to hire someone.

That law was enacted in 2021 by Gov. JB Pritzker and Illinois Democratic state lawmakers. The measure, known as the “Employee Background Fairness Act,” amended the Illinois Human Rights Act to make it a civil rights violation for employers to make hiring decisions based on arrest records revealed in employment background checks.

The lawsuit asserts Target’s alleged mistreatment of McElrath-Bey was part of an alleged pattern of allegedly “unlawfully inquir(ing) into the arrest records” of Illinois job applicants.

The lawsuit seeks to expand the action to include everyone with arrest records who were denied jobs by Target since October 2023.

The lawsuit asserts that number includes “at least 100” people.

The lawsuit seeks damages on behalf of McElrath-Bey and all other class members, including an injunction against Target and unspecified money damages “allowed under the IHRA,” plus attorney fees.

A Target spokesperson declined comment on the lawsuit.