Posted on 01/09/2009 5:51:18 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
AP News item - "Hoping to prevent convicts from being shut out of the work force, some major U.S. cities are eliminating questions from their job applications that ask whether prospective employees have ever been convicted of a crime."
When most people fill out a job application, the main concern usually is whether they can make themselves seem impressive enough to get the job. But when you have a criminal record, it's all about getting a fair shake when they know you've made a serious mistake.
In many ways, it's a leap of faith.
Ask any ex-con looking for work in Milwaukee, particularly African-American men with criminal records that involve drug-dealing or other non-violent felonies. For many, their past mistakes continue to haunt them.
"I just can't catch a break!" is what one out-of-work convict once told me about his fruitless job search. He blamed his criminal record; once employers knew about it, he never heard from them again.
That's why it was intriguing to learn that several cities - including Chicago, Boston, Minneapolis, Baltimore and San Francisco - have eliminated questions about criminal records from job applications. The motivation for the new policy came out of a desire to aid convicts who feel shut out of the job market and reduce the likelihood they will commit new crimes.
In most cases, eliminating the question from the application didn't mean the city stopped doing background checks, particularly in sensitive areas involving working with children or public safety. But it acknowledges it's not necessary to inquire about criminal convictions for jobs that have nothing to do with a previous offense.
This strikes me as something Milwaukee should consider, particularly since this is a city where a 2003 study found that whites with criminal records were called back for possible jobs more often than African-Americans with no criminal record.
Milwaukee Employee Relations Director Maria Monteagudo said the city asks all applicants to list their misdemeanor and felony convictions on job applications but not municipal citations. She also cited a state law that forbids any discrimination against applicants because of previous arrests or convictions.
"It's illegal to use that against someone," she said.
Monteagudo said some people don't understand the failure to list a criminal record on applications can be used as a reason to remove them from job consideration. Even if they believe listing their record will be a negative factor, they are still required to provide the information or face being accused of lying about their background.
Monteagudo said she felt that eliminating the criminal record disclosure portion on job applications could benefit some ex-offenders but it could also raise false hopes for others. Some might not understand that providing false information might be the thing that killed their chances.
One of Milwaukee's most daunting problems is the underutilization of black men with criminal records in the work force. In some cases, a criminal record might be relevant, but there are plenty of jobs where having run afoul of the law in a previous life shouldn't be considered grounds for denial.
Paying your debt to society should mean just that, paid in full.
When 80% end up back in prison, should we really care? Don’t put the blame on industry in this country.
Yes, why would we want to screen risky applicants from jobs that most likely involve the public's personal information.
If you’re applying at a novelty license plate factory, it would be a plus.
That includes Chuck Colson.
/ sarc -- or maybe not
Fine, if you want to keep them incarcerated for the rest of their lives. Otherwise you are FORCING someone to commit crimes just to feed/house themselves.
Don't do the crime if you can't do the time. Great! But, once the time is done, the punishment should be done too.
Inmate laborers now do everything from processing your credit card statements to making your airline reservations, to assembling your tennis shoes and the circuit boards for your stereo. And the Department of Justice operates something called Federal Prison Industries, better known as Unicor, as a profit-making venture to benefit American corporations. Unicor runs more than 100 factories in prisons in at least 30 states
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