Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I've seen it time and time again. People get a record for a bs non violent drug offense in their youth and when they come out the only jobs they can get are low wage part time stuff(if they can get that)
The EEOC has a federal law prohibiting employers from using felony status or otherwise (misdemeanor) convictions as a judge of character. If someone breaks the law, is convicted and serves their sentence then I don't have an issue with that person coming back to society with a new outlook. If you bar them from returning to the workforce what option do they have other than returning to crime?
That's not quite true.
There is no such law. However, the EEOC has at times taken the position that the use of criminal background checks disproportionately prevents minorities from being hired, and therefor could be a violation of Title VII as racial discrimination. Even then, if the employer can show a business need for such a policy, there is no violation
Certainly an employer can have the right to hire who they see fit. However, there are a bit of some limits in terms of disqualificaitons. Pepsi for example got in trouble for going to extremes. It is one thing not to hire someone that was in prison. It's another to refuse if they just got arrested (for anything). Ironically long ago Pepsi had a reputation down south for actually hiring African Americas in more droves then Coke. Not everyone arrested is found guilty in court and frankly these days nearly anyone can get arrested.
Read the press release. The lawsuits were filed as racial discrimination suits, claiming the background checks resulted in a disproportionate bias against minorities, without a business need.
What is interesting, though, is considering that the EEOC only files suits in something like less than 1% of the cases they review, the ones they do file are usually only very large or egregious cases, or ones where they are trying to establish a precedent (IMHO). This one looks like it may be the latter.
I hear people say things like, "Well, that's good, because if you don't have good character then you don't deserve a job," or stuff like that. Won't this attitude create a society of people who just give up trying in life? For example, if I was convicted of a felony and knew that I could never have a good job again, that I'd be forever relegated to working at McDonald's (at best), then I would probably just commit suicide.
Everyone deserves a 2nd chance. If someone has done the work and paid their dues, then no one should stand in their way.
1. Female
2 Have an anti-social personality disorder or communication problems that don't allow you to get along well with other people
3. Intelligent
4. Single
5. Without formal training (vocational school or university)
You are likely to find yourself marginalized like the groups who commit crimes against society. How fair is that?
What about mental illness? If they find out I have something as simple as depression I am way less likely to get a job than a felon. I mean they say they don't use it against you if you put on the form you have one but that's just like saying you should be honest on those assessments. Of course they're going to pretend they don't or they may face consequences.
Number 2 makes sense for retail jobs though but the only problem is they take it a step further, they think you have to be outgoing to be a salesperson.
Certainly I can understand second chances but sometimes there's a limit to where things occurred.
If someone say was caught as a thief in their late teens or early 20's that's one thing. When you are in your fifties that is much harder to argue. Where I worked before there was a branch where one manager was fired for fudging numbers and he tried to take people down with him (didn't work) fired him right about on Christmas too.
Some crimes pretty much will exclude people from everything and stay forever. I can tell you in Mass if you are a convicted arsonist or rank as a level three sex offender and somehow end up homeless that person will probably have to live in a van or something else as no shelter will take them in due to security and fundraising efforts. Without a doubt that would block employment with working with children and even block a married spouse from the same.
Mental health is a 3rd rail of healthcare in the USA. No one really wants to talk about it because we do not always define things 100% in an agreeable fashion amongst fields of science. Ever see Requiem for a Dream? That's every day with mental health.
I hear people say things like, "Well, that's good, because if you don't have good character then you don't deserve a job," or stuff like that. Won't this attitude create a society of people who just give up trying in life? For example, if I was convicted of a felony and knew that I could never have a good job again, that I'd be forever relegated to working at McDonald's (at best), then I would probably just commit suicide.
I'll be honest right now. I'm a law-abiding person with a good job.
But if I was barred from any decent job due to something on my record, I would have absolutely no problem living a life of crime to survive. Not only that, but I wouldn't feel bad about it. If anything, I'd see it as only fair to a society that completely and systematically strips all people who have ever made mistakes of any chance of getting their life back on track legitimately.
Denying nearly all opportunities for people with records is a GREAT way to ensure that more people start/restart lives of crime = continued and increased crime in every community.
Edited to add: Now, would I be ok hiring a convicted child molester to teach kindergarten? No. But does it really matter if an accountant was a prostitute once? Or if the web designer has an old DUI?
Last edited by ohhwanderlust; 12-21-2014 at 01:06 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
