U.S. Puts Limits On Employee Background Checks To Protect Minorities

AOL.com ^ | 4/26/12 | AP

[ColdOne]

WASHINGTON -- Is an arrest in a barroom brawl 20 years ago a job disqualifier? Not necessarily, the government said Wednesday in new guidelines on how employers can avoid running afoul of laws prohibiting job discrimination.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's updated policy on criminal background checks is part of an effort to rein in practices that can limit job opportunities for minorities that have higher arrest and conviction rates than whites.

[Neidermeyer]

Online presence is a bigger worry for a lot of people. A few goofy remarks on Facebook and the hapless job seeker will never know what hit him (or passed over him).
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Or simply sharing a name with someone with a large online presence... HR is lazy ,, you’ll never get past their filters..

[Harley]

Protect them from what? A criminal record?

[Graewoulf]

Meanwhile, the drumbeat of Dictator Obama grows louder:

regulate -— control -— destroy -— Regulate -— control -— destroy -— REgulate -— control -— destroy -— REGulate -— control -— destroy -— REGU

[tbw2]

Reminds me of Ayn Rand.

[montag813]

Is this limited to non-whites? Because I have always been steamed by the overuse of credit score checks by nearly every employer these days. It is NONE of their business if you won’t be handling money or customers’ accounts in your job, and many people have crappy credit scores these days that didn’t in 2007.

[CurlyDave]

Is this limited to non-whites? Because I have always been steamed by the overuse of credit score checks by nearly every employer these days. It is NONE of their business if you won’t be handling money or customers’ accounts in your job, and many people have crappy credit scores these days that didn’t in 2007.

I don't run a company and don't make hiring decisions, but I could easily be convinced that credit scores are a reasonable proxy for the now-forbidden IQ test. While I am certain there are many exceptions, I would bet that a guy who has managed to stay out of financial trouble is smarter than a guy who has gotten into financial trouble, and has stayed there.

Now the best hire of all might be the guy who has gotten into trouble and has made his way out of it.

[ops33]

Thank you for stating what should be obvious.