Arrest and court record discrimination

Whether conviction bears “rational relationship” to job is question for trial, Hawaii State Supreme Court rules.

Hawaii’s prohibition of employment discrimination based on arrest and court record allows employers to consider convictions within the last 10 years that have a rational relationship to the duties and responsibilities of the position. Home Depot in Kahului terminated an employee when it found that he had been convicted six years prior for drug possession. The Court concluded that the employee’s probation record, subsequent negative drug tests with Home Depot, and good work performance while he was at the company were sufficient to state a claim to be decided by the lower court.