Active Investigation

Were You Denied a Job at Walmart Due to a Criminal Background Check?

If Walmart denied you a job based on information in a criminal background check, you may have legal rights worth exploring.

About This Investigation

Outten & Golden is investigating claims that Walmart may have unlawfully denied employment opportunities to job applicants based on criminal background check information. We are reviewing whether Walmart’s hiring practices may have unfairly screened out qualified applicants.

Potential claims may involve:

Denial of employment following a criminal background check
Applications submitted to Walmart after 2020
Potential discrimination related to criminal history screening practices
Potential violations of civil rights and fair hiring laws

If you applied for a job at Walmart after 2020 and were denied employment after a criminal background check, we encourage you to learn more about your rights.

Reach out today for a free and confidential consultation.

Understanding Your Rights

Criminal background checks do not automatically disqualify someone from employment. Depending on the circumstances, applicants may have legal rights if they were:

Denied employment because of criminal history information
Not given a meaningful opportunity to explain or challenge background check information
Subjected to hiring practices that resulted in unlawful discrimination

Outten & Golden is actively challenging Walmart hiring practices involving criminal history information. In June 2026, the firm filed a class action lawsuit alleging that Walmart subjected Massachusetts job applicants to unlawful honesty testing and criminal history screening practices during the hiring process.

Our Experience Fighting Criminal History Discrimination

Outten & Golden has recovered more than $20 million for individuals impacted by criminal history discrimination and helped secure changes that expanded job opportunities for workers across the country. Notable matters include:

Secured a $15 million settlement for more than 450,000 workers in Gonzalez v. Pritzker, a case that challenged the U.S. Census Bureau’s background check policy.
Representing plaintiffs in Mandala v. NTT Data, a class action that challenges NTT’s use of criminal records to deny jobs to qualified Black applicants.
Secured $3.6 million for job applicants who challenged a regional transportation authority’s use of criminal background checks.
Secured $1.5 million for job applicants who were unfairly denied employment by one of the country’s largest sports and entertainment venues, resulting in changes to hiring and background check practices.
Secured $3.3 million for 1,700+ workers in Aguilera v. Uber Eats, a lawsuit involving alleged violations of New York City’s Fair Chance Act, which makes it illegal for most employers to consider an applicant’s criminal history before making a job offer.

Read more about our efforts to represent workers in this area:

Why Outten & Golden

For more than three decades, Outten & Golden has been one of the country's most respected advocates for employees — from front-line workers to C-suite executives — in matters against the nation's largest and most powerful employers.

$1.3B

Recovered for employees

500+

Class action cases prosecuted, many against major tech companies

$320M

Secured for victims of pay discrimination

140

Attorneys and professionals, united by one mission

Our offices

New York

685 Third Avenue, 25th Floor
New York, NY 10017

Washington, D.C.

1225 New York Ave NW, Suite 1200B
Washington, DC 20005

Oakland

1999 Harrison Street, Suite 1500
Oakland, CA 94612