William Simmons

William J. Simmons has represented employers in a wide variety of labor and employment matters, ranging from nationwide wage and hour class and collective actions to individual lawsuits. He has handled numerous claims alleging violations of state and federal anti-discrimination and anti-retaliation statutes, such as :

• Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
• Section 1981 of the Civil Rights Act
• The New Jersey Law Against Discrimination

He regularly defends employers in connection with discrimination charges filed at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and state administrative agencies around the country, including the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission and the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations.

A large portion of Bill’s practice now concerns compliance with the array of laws governing background checks in hiring, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), state, and local “ban the box” laws, state social media privacy laws, and state fair credit reporting acts.

He has served as lead or co-lead counsel in a variety of putative class action cases against employers for alleged violation of the FCRA’s disclosure, authorization and pre-adverse action requirements.

He has also defended employers against class action claims alleging disparate impact in background checks, individual claims under state laws such as the Pennsylvania Criminal History Record Information Act, and discrimination charges related to background checks.

Bill frequently trains in-house legal departments and human resources departments on background check processes and substantive decision-making. He is a regular speaker on background check related practices.

Bill also leverages knowledge of consumer reporting agencies in his practice, having advised several consumer reporting agencies on compliance matters and conducted an in-depth consumer reporting agency audit.

Education :

• J.D., Rutgers School of Law, 2007
• A.B., Lafayette College, 2004

Courts :

• U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court, Middle District of Pennsylvania
• U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey

Professional & Community Affiliations :

• Member, Labor & Employment Section, American Bar Association
• Member, Litigation Section, American Bar Association
• Pupil, Sidney Reitman Labor and Employment American Inn of Court.