[Behind Liberal Lines]

Seriously, all of us have broken the law. Some have been caught and some of us have not. (yet) If a person has been caught and has paid “his debt to society”, why should it be an issue? If he hasn’t, then why is he still not in jail?

Just asking..

Your point is well taken. However, shouldn't the hiring decision be up the employer and not the government?

[binreadin]

The problem is that there are a lot of over-zealous procecutors out there who will slap all kinds of frivolous charges against people, and many applications incorrectly ask about charges rather than convictions. Even if a person is found innocent, or has charges dropped, they can still face employment discrimination for the rest of their lives. The law is handled very differently in different communities, and outcomes often depend more on personal wealth than guilt or innocence.