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Would you hire a criminal?
Sixty-five million Americans—or one in four adults—have a criminal record. But employers—including major companies like Bank of America, Omni Hotel, and Domino’s Pizza—routinely post job ads on Craigslist that explicitly exclude such applicants, according to a new report conducted by the National Employment Law Center (NELP), a labor-affiliated advocacy group.
The practice appears in some cases to be against the law, and at a time of record long-term joblessness, advocates for the poor say it places yet another obstacle in front of people who are working to get their life back on track.
Perhaps most important, effectively making more than one quarter of the American workforce unemployable may be an unsustainable policy for the economy as whole.
Because discriminating against those with criminal records disproportionately hurts African Americans, the practice may violate the Civil Rights Act, which prohibits race-based hiring discrimination. Indeed, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has said that although considering an applicant’s criminal record may be acceptable on a case-by-case basis, an “absolute bar to employment” for such people is illegal.
Last year, plaintiffs brought at least five major civil rights lawsuits against large employers on the issue, but the National Employment Law Project wants the EEOC to enforce the law more vigorously.
There’s not much chance of getting a job with most businesses, not only the national corporations, if you’ve got a record. The military still enlists felons on a case-by-case basis. Looks like without a lot of money to begin with and a good or hungry lawyer, or just some good luck, you’re screwed.
That’s alright they’ll still deny you that job because you have poor credit.
Wow! Notice the Orwellian double-speak?
“The practice … effectively making more than one quarter of the American workforce unemployable …”
It should read “one quarter of the American workforce have made themselves unemployable …”
Businesses are not charities.
Government jobs, on the other hand…
#2, I’m with you. They’ve done it to themselves. And there are very likely a LARGE number of jobs that could/would take them….if they weren’t taken by illegal aliens.
For the record, I don’t understand how being a drug courier (aware or not) is only a misdemeanor.
“Because discriminating against those with criminal records disproportionately hurts African Americans, the practice may violate the Civil Rights Act…”
Oh, brother, cut the bullshit here. Either you committed a crime or you didn’t. Don’t cry to me about racism.
Did you commit the crime, yes or no?
Did your skin make you do it, yes or no?
Man up and stop blaming others for your mistakes. Own them.
are you paying attention yet prison nation?
Walter Willians said, “Avoiding long-term poverty is not rocket science. First, graduate from high school. Second, get married before you have children, and stay married. Third, work at any kind of job, even one that starts out paying the minimum wage. And, finally, avoid engaging in criminal behavior. ”
— http://capitalismmagazine.com/politics/poverty/4223-how-not-to-be-poor.html
I have a neighbor who is poor because he did not follow rule two and four. He has a child from some woman other than his wife. Therefore he has no driver’s license because he is behind on child support. That also affects his ability to get a job. Without a driver’s license, he cannot take a job outside of the rural town where he lives. He also has a drug conviction so that limits what he can do as well. He is pretty much stuck being poor.
Brian is right. These people do it to themselves.
So lets make the problem worse?
Ya. That guy totally did it to himself unknowingly picking up a package of drugs f you guys ever read up on the sheer number of charges that you could be convicted of even without intent; would shock you.
The charges were dismissed but it doesn’t matter. It’s just one more way for those in power to screw over people.
Domino’s will also do a credit check because someone has convinced American HR departments that if someone has bad credit that they WILL steal from them. Oh, and don’t be unemployed too long. it must mean something is wrong with you.
Red #1
I have been refused by the military industrial complex because my TS/CA clearance was pulled after I filed for Chapter 7 and many big corporations because of my foreclosure. I never committed nor was accused/suspected of any crime except once upon a time my wife died (so we lost her income) and I lost my job and our family home to the banksters because they hosed the world economy.
This really affects us all. The person who finally gives up trying to turn his life around because of yet another job rejection may be the guy who ends up burglarizing your house, jacking your car, or setting up a meth lab next door. Not everyone who can’t find a job resigns themselves to living in a homeless shelter. I’m convinced that the grim employment outlook is a significant component of the high recidivism rate for criminal activity.
That’s the thing about many forms of criminal enterprise — you’re not rejected for having a prior criminal record.
twenty years ago, “not having a criminal record” was definitely NOT too much to ask of a person. why should it be any different now? because we’ve become a nation of thugs and miscreants?
A clean record soon won’t matter much either.
Your corporation masters now running government are shopping for cheaper labor in China and India anyway, not cleaner labor.
Just STFU and just be a good consumer of goods and services.
Won’t this force these people to abandon decent society and be forced into a life of politics?
Odd that you can’t vote with a criminal conviction but can be president
I have a neighbor who is poor because he did not follow rule two and four.
Then you live in a poor neighborhood, i.e. you are poor too, in addition to being a stupid asshole.
q.e.d.
twenty years ago, “not having a criminal record” was definitely NOT too much to ask of a person. why should it be any different now? because we’ve become a nation of thugs and miscreants?
No, because there are twice as many laws now as there were 20 years ago, and you can’t take a piss without breaking one of them. Also, our police force is now made up of 90% ex soldiers, who follow the “kill (arrest) them all, let God sort ’em out” rule. Can’t wait until the current batch of civilian killing sociopaths come back from Afghanistan and take their rightful place in law enforcement.
1.Let all the pot smokers out of prison/jail and expunge their records.
2. Put the government in charge of selling pot and tax it to hell like we already do for alcohol and cigarettes.
4 immediate benefits.
A. We instantly have many more employable people.
B. We cure the prison over-crowding problem.
C. We dramatically increase tax revenues.
D. Drug cartels are drastically weakened.
#19 OvenMaster: that’s an oversimplified response that doesn’t actually address any of the stated problems.
“Avoid conviction” ? That ship has already sailed. What do we do *now*? What can we do now?
If there is a felon who made a mistake, served his time, saw the error of his ways and wants to be a productive member of society, what purpose does putting a scarlet letter on him serve? Not every felon is this way, obviously. But setting up an unjust system, only reinforces contempt for the system.
#15 Alphie, I agree with you for once! Why if George Bush can be hired as president with an alcohol arrest, then your conclusion has solid basis.
However, you are fooling yourself if u think America, Inc is more interested in clean records than in cheaper labor. Thanks to you, your next generation of Alphie sheeples will be competing with child labor to make that iPad 9.
>Because discriminating against those with criminal records disproportionately hurts African Americans,
This is a racist statement, implying that black people are criminals.
Dallas said
“#15 Alphie, I agree with you for once! Why if George Bush can be hired as president with an alcohol arrest, then your conclusion has solid basis.”
Goerge Bush was able to avoid bearing the full brunt of society’s punishment because he, being a trust fund baby, had huge amounts of money to hire the very best lawyers who spared no effort or expense to work and game the system so this young man who made a simple mistake wouldn’t be scared for the rest of his life.
A 19 year old poor kid doesn’t get that kind of effort and consideration from the legal system and his overworked public defender. He’s persuaded to take a plea bargain to avoid several more years in jail, he gets processed by the system and comes out unemployable.
Meanwhile, a company that has a job available will get multiple applications from persons with no record. They do not have any reason to take a chance on a person with a record.
The article in the post really only refers to poor people. Rich kids who get in trouble will likely not suffer the same experience.
Best legal system money can buy. It’s good to be King! Sucks to be poor!
#24 I agree 100% .
By driving drunk, Bush endangered many lives, including countess unborn babies that may have been on the road and American soldiers returning home. Yet this arrest record was set aside to be in charge of the Justice department.
Its amazing how little items – that no long ago would be buried in dusty paper and hid in the past of what were hard working ordinary people now sit there forever to haunt you
I wonder on Craigslist simple jobs that are being offered get such a workup
“Would you hire a felon?” Why not? We elect enough of them…
The EEOC is the place where you have to file your charges and their job, paid for by the people with the jobs, is to, uh, vet the complaints.
Like putting a thief in charge of the warehouse keys, wouldn’t you say? In this case, its your warehouse.
I wonder
a) How many applications are made per year?
b) How many of those actually get to a court per year?
c) How many of those actually get adjudicated?
d) How many of those are found for the plaintif?
e) How much the settlements are?
The implementation of the EEOC may just be a piece of bullshit perpetrated on the public to protect the interest of the employers, regardless of its original intent.
Between me and thee, there are many ways to poison a well.
Lobbyists know them all.
“Government jobs, on the other hand…” Require a background check be passed prior to employment. Elected officials on the other hand…
In # 26, Taxed Enough Already Dude said: BECAUSE progressives drove wealth creators/job makers overseas with their hate the rich manifesto.
STOP USING THE WORD PROGRESSIVE SINCE IT OBVIOUSLY DOES NOT MEAN WHAT YOU THINK IT DOES!
Read the definition of the word. Its got nothing to say about politics or the politics of the individuals who are progressive.
I think you mean the corporatists, those individuals who care about and only about the corporation for which they work, to the exclusion of all else.
They are the ones who left and took their jobs with them.
pro·gres·sive
[pruh-gres-iv]
–adjective
1.
favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are, especially in political matters: a progressive mayor.
2.
making progress toward better conditions; employing or advocating more enlightened or liberal ideas, new or experimental methods, etc.: a progressive community.
3.
characterized by such progress, or by continuous improvement.
4.
( initial capital letter ) of or pertaining to any of the Progressive parties in politics.
5.
going forward or onward; passing successively from one member of a series to the next; proceeding step by step.
6.
noting or pertaining to a form of taxation in which the rate increases with certain increases in taxable income.
7.
of or pertaining to progressive education: progressive schools.
8.
Grammar . noting a verb aspect or other verb category that indicates action or state going on at a temporal point of reference.
9.
Medicine/Medical . continuously increasing in extent or severity, as a disease.
–noun
10.
a person who is progressive or who favors progress or reform, especially in political matters.
11.
( initial capital letter ) a member of a Progressive party.
12.
Grammar .
a.
the progressive aspect.
b.
a verb form or construction in the progressive, as are thinking in They are thinking about it.
I’m more troubled by the company hiring posts, that are for minority candidates only. They usually use various buzzwords like diversity positions, or equal opportunity hires.
The amount of discrimination against people who have criminal records is unreal. The people in here that talk down on people have made mistakes have a one point in their life done something that was illegal the only difference is they were not caught. So you say that people with criminal records get what they deserve. Well when your house gets burglarized by a person who is starving, cant feed his family, or keep shelter over their head because of previous mistakes then I say you are getting what you deserve. I myself have a record that is 10 years old with no new convictions and am haunted by it every day, but that does not excuse the way society prevents me from being able to properly provide for myself or my family. You want to know why their are so many repeat offenders and career criminals go talk to anyone with a criminal record and ask them what they are faced with on a daily basis. This country was founded by people that were debtors, religiously prosecuted, and criminals in their respected countries. It was at one point a place for people to have second chances at a good life, too bad that is a thing of the past.
#24, Steve,
Good post. One thing you didn’t mention is the ability of rich people to have their record expunged. Those who can’t afford lawyers and don’t have the connections rarely get that chance.
>The amount of discrimination against people who have criminal records is unreal.
No it’s real, and I think it’s OK. People have a choice in who to hire. If you were the one doing the hiring, you would probably go in the direction of someone who has not committed a crime. Or are you telling me if you were looking for someone to clean your house, you would treat equally two candidates one who is in community college and someone who served sixth months for breaking and entering?