Attorneys for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Sheetz Inc. have agreed to mediate their ongoing dispute concerning the company’s alleged use of criminal background information when hiring employees.

The EEOC last year filed a federal lawsuit stating that the use of criminal histories of potential employees had a disparate impact on minority applicants.

The federal agency is seeking money damages on behalf of those minorities denied employment due to their criminal histories dating back to Aug. 10, 2015, citing provisions of the Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The civil rights action by the government was initially filed in Baltimore, but Sheetz argued that the EEOC lawsuit should be moved to the U.S. District Court in Johnstown since the convenience store’s corporate headquarters are located in the Altoona area, within the jurisdiction of the Johnstown Court.

A federal judge in Baltimore agreed and the EEOC petition is now before District Judge Stephanie L. Haines, who presides in Johnstown.

Haines late last week made a ruling establishing a relevant timeframe to be covered by the lawsuit.

And on Tuesday afternoon, she held a status conference with representatives of both Sheetz and the EEOC to discuss an unspecified protective order, ordering each side to submit their recommendations on the relevant information concerning the many issues involved in the case.

Also on Tuesday, Pittsburgh attorneys Gregory A. Murray, representing the EEOC, and Katelyn W. McCombs for Sheetz indicated their preference to mediate the dispute.

The federal court has an Alternative Dispute Resolution Program that provides differing parties with options to resolve their disputes out of court.

The ADR offers mediation, early neutral evaluation, binding arbitration, or non-binding arbitration as ways to settle the issues.

The parties selected mediation as their ADR choice.

The first mediation session is scheduled for June 6 in Washington.

The mediator will be attorney Linda R. Singer, described online as a “pioneer in the field of ADR” and an expert concerning employment issues.