On Wednesday, US District Judge Valerie Caproni in Manhattan said convicted murderer Henry Franklin could pursue a proposed class action after he was turned down from a grocery delivery position at Cornucopia Logistics, which serves Amazon and Whole Foods.
After a background check, Amazon determined that Franklin had lied on a 2019 job application by answering “no” when asked if he had a criminal record. However, New York law prohibits employers from rejecting job applicants based on their criminal histories. There is only an exception if the crime relates directly to the job in question or if hiring the candidate would pose an unreasonable risk to members of the public.
Judge Caproni said that Amazon and Whole Foods failed to demonstrate that either exception applied. She added that Franklin no longer poses a threat to the public following his rehabilitation, though said she was “sympathetic” to the defendants and understood that they do not want a convicted murderer making deliveries to their customers’ homes.
Franklin was convicted of second-degree murder in June 1995, according to court papers.