several years in a work history may be indicated but allow them to broach that information. Remain neutral in both your verbal and non-verbal responses to such a disclosure. Application forms Your application process will be more inclusive if you “ban the box” or remove the question about felony charges or convictions from your application. Federal employers and federal contractor are prohibited from asking applicants about criminal convictions until a conditional job offer is made. Choose candidates for their merits and skills and have an open, respectful conversation about backgrounds when you offer the position. Allow them to share their experience and story. Background checks There is a right way and a wrong way to read background checks. “Charged” with a crime and “convicted” of a crime are very different. Work with a re-entry employment specialist or justice case manager to understand the terminology in a background report. Allow the applicant to share their experience and story. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS The choice to become a fair-chance employer implicates legal concerns both in terms of recruitment and in terms of employee and customer relations.
Whether an employer chooses to be a second-chance employer or not, company recruiters should be cognizant that hiring decisions that consider the criminal background of justice-involved candidates must be based upon individualized assessment. In other words, blanket policies that prohibit the hiring of justice-involved individuals are not legally permissible. Why? While 1 in 17 Caucasian men will spend time in prison at some point, the rate is 1 in 6 for Hispanic men and 1 in 3 for African-American men. As a result, blanket prohibitions on hiring justice-involved individuals have a disparate impact upon member of racial and ethnic minorities and can violate Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. At the same time, this individualized assessment should consider the nature of the work and customer care environment. Employers should be aware of federal and state hiring regulations that may impact the hiring of certain justice-involved individuals for particular positions. Beyond compliance with specific regulatory mandates, employers should also keep in mind potential liability for negligent hiring. Liability for negligent hiring can arise where an employee causes harm to another while in service to the employer and where the the specific danger resulting in injury. For example, if an employer knew that an employee had previously been convicted of assault and battery and the employee later assaulted a customer, the employer
6
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online