Is it Illegal to Ask about Criminal History on Job Applications?
In past years it was common for potential employers to ask about criminal history on applications. However, in recent years this standard has begun to evolve. Since 2011, eleven states have imposed a law against inquiring into criminal history in this first round of hiring. Many similar bills are pending as this movement gains momentum.
Companies often have legitimate reasons for inquiring after criminal history, such as filtering out individuals who may be at a risk for security or who have created crimes that would affect day to day business, productivity, and profit. While these reasons for criminal history investigation are legitimate, the rationale behind disallowing criminal inquiries on job applications is to allow ex-offenders an opportunity to successfully re-enter society. This ban creates a conflict between screening out employment risks and the need to find jobs for ex-offenders.
According to legislative findings by Newark, New Jersey’s City Council, 1 in 4 adults have a criminal record. While this ban allows ex-offenders to get past the first round of screening applications, it doesn’t impact the remainder of the hiring process.
States that ban criminal history inquiries on applications are:
- California
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New York
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Washington
Newark, New Jersey is the only city that has prohibited criminal history information on applications.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Harry Kaye on
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While I am totally for any help that I can get, be it federal or local, to screen out the "baddies" from list of potential employees, I do feel a bit uncomfortable with these types of personal criminal investigations, it's laden with possibilities that something can go wrong, we assume the information is correct, and really do not look at the other side of the coin. Yes, I know, to do this, you must be a professional, you must have a keen sense for who you're dealing with, you must have experience to be able "see" what this person is all about. But frankly, in my 30+ years, I have never, personally, made a "fatal" mistake by hiring someone with a criminal history to have go rogue on me. In fact quite the opposite, when people are facing this situation, in most cases they just want to put their life together, and if you show compassion and willingness to help, people respond extremely well. That is not to say that I am a pushover, or that anyone else should be either, not by a long shot. But my point is this, I take personal responsibility over the people I hire, I make my own decisions and stand behind them. I am not so sure that I want a "system" to tell me who should I employ and who should I not. Just because they got caught smoking pot, or perhaps a DUI or something, or possibly something worse, does not have to mean they are unemployable. And how do I do this, well, I'll say it again, I take personal responsibility, I do not hide behind some rules that offer convenience to many, and I do demand high standards.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Elliott on
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Thanks for your comments, Harry. In your experience, when you've hired people with some criminal background, have they 'worked out' about the same as others with no criminal background?
For myself, I'd be wary of hiring someone with multiple instances of criminal activity and more likely to 'take a chance' with someone who had only one instance.
What has your experience been and what do you think?
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Permalink Reply by Harry Kaye on
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Well, I mean I do look at the facts, and I will have a frank conversation about their situation, but generally, if it's about weed, maybe DUI or something, perhaps even multiple times, I will be careful, that is for sure. And some cases, I do not hire. But I try to find their patterns - not easy, but can be done - to kind of see what is going on in their lives. You know the thing of it is, if and when you give these people that "second" chance, quite often they produce remarkable results. Not only that, once they realize that they are in fact, valuable members of our society, they all of sudden start to flourish. So it's a double whammy of sorts, I get a good/excellent employee and they their life back. But yes, I do look for patterns, and basically, if I decide that it is just too difficult, I won't do it, I am, after all, in the car business, I am not someone's personal therapist.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Elliott on
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Harry,
that's a very positive, but rational, way to look at it. If you're occasionally able to hire someone with a criminal history and it works out, you're helping the community you serve to a huge degree.
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