What Is the Law for a Felon to Be Able to Get a Job?
It is difficult for a convicted felon to secure employment. Many employers, including government and private companies, will conduct a criminal background check on all applicants and may consider felony convictions when making a decision on employment.
However, convicted felons can ensure that employers follow the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) guidelines during the hiring process.
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EEOC guidelines
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These guidelines give instructions to employers in relation to rules and regulations when hiring a convicted felon. The manual stipulates that an employer is prohibited from excluding employees just because of a conviction.
Employers have to take a number of things into consideration such as: how long has it been since the conviction? What was the nature of the crime? Was the crime relevant to the job? So, for example, a day-care center could legally reject an application of a convicted pedophile.
Proffessional licenses
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The majority of federal and state licenses such as attorneys, dentists, architects and many more require background checks before issuance of a license.
Some convictions lead to immediate disqualification of a license holder or immediate rejection for an applicant. Licensing bodies must follow the EEOC guidelines.
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Considerations
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In most states when an employer terminates the contract of a convicted felon or an application is rejected because of a conviction the employer must provide a written statement of reasons.
If there is inaccurate or misleading information on the background check, an existing employee can challenge his termination and an applicant can apply for correction of the record.
If the conviction is not related to the job, an employee or applicant can pursue a discrimination claim with their state equal employment opportunity agency.
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References
- Photo Credit prison image by Albert Lozano from Fotolia.com
