New York City Council Passes 'Ban The Box' Bill Restricting Use Of Criminal Records In Hiring

Sorry if you have been convicted of murder, rape or pedophilia then you have up the right to have a career. If you can find work under the table or some,other way great.

I know blah blah blah the man made me kill someone because of the 1%.

I also believe if you have 2 or more DUIs then you should be banned from getting any type of transportation job.

If you are in a position of,power and you commit a crime then you should never be put in a position of power again.

a reply to: onequestion

As usual most people on ATS want to pretend they are so thoughtful and righteous...I'm sure our ATS members who are in full agreement would love to have some to hire a man that put his wife in coma and broke a few bones to work at his house while his wife is home alone with them...better yet leave your beautiful 19 year old daughter at home with home...sure you would feel real comfortable knowing you were helping some scumbag get his life back together.

I have no problem with someone arrested for possession to have this overlooked or someone who failed to pay uncle sam his share....and I don't care how many members of ATS were in Prison...this idea needs to be looked at more carefully...

Sounds like a great way to allow violent criminals access to fresh pools of victims to me.

I don't have a problem with wiping clean the slate for people who commit stupid petty crimes, even people who have been involved in drug dealing, but actively violent criminal felons should indeed be kept at a certain distance.

a reply to: AnIntellectualRedneck

The distance they are kept at will create a much more dangerous situation than you think.

Also the really bad criminals end up in prison for very long periods of time.

I bet you know a few felons and don't even know it.

In calif employers are not allowed to ask about misdemeanors.

But the people doing background checks in calif just run the police checks through the state of Nevada.

The police departments in Reno and lost wages make good money at $30 a head to check the criminal records of people in calif for these companies.

I know this because as the superintendent of the mine in calif i ran i had these companies call me advertizing there business.

Companies in New York will just run there checks through another state and never tell anyone.

a reply to: ANNED

If the state wants to shut that down, it just needs to position legalese that leverages the fear of violating interstate commerce regulation.

If it continues, its because the state doesn't care to really stop it.

Strangely, the company i do background checks through is in California.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Again, will this law absolve companies from any legal liability if they hire an ex-felon who then goes on to commit a crime while employed?

I work in finance where we have access to people's personal financial information and deal with a lot of money. Identify theft and fraud is a huge concern. We cannot hire people with criminal histories or those who've shown an inability to manage their own finances (poor credit histories). There is simply too much risk.

This is not to say people without known criminal histories aren't prone to commiting crimes, but at the same time a business needs to show they took appropriate steps to check the backgrounds of their employees lest they be held liable for the action of the employee.

Obviously, the simple solution to this is for people to not commit felons... but personal responsibility seems to be asking too much nowadays.

a reply to: Edumakated

Im pretty furrytexan answered this question earlier in the thread.

Actually check their references and address any periods of unemployment in their employment history.

originally posted by: onequestion
Im pretty furrytexan answered this question earlier in the thread.

Actually check their references and address any periods of unemployment in their employment history.

With current employment law you need to be mindful of how your phrase your questions and you need to make sure that all candidates being interviewed for the same position are asked identical, or very nearly so, questions.

A background and credit check will reveal any serious red flags on a candidate that positions involving sensitive information or finances would preclude a potential employer from hiring.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

This is why you should likely not be doing interviews for any sizable operation without having some sort of behavioral interviewing training. And a solid BS detector.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

I agree. Part of our corporate training for managers is interview training and discrimination training. They go hand in hand.

I always get a laugh when they show real life examples taken from court cases on what some people asked during an interview. You think it would be common sense not to ask a female candidate if she plans to get pregnant soon but apparently there is a dearth of common sense in the world today.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Right i agree but the answer is not to simply just throw away every application that has the box checked which is what happens. Theres a point which we are reaching at which this is an unsustainable practice and it is actually dragging the entire economy down.

Massive massive amounts of money are spent on profit prisons and subsidizing these people because they cant keep themselves alive on minimum wage jobs that pay under the table.

Locking tens of millions of people out of the economy is having massive consequences for all of us.

originally posted by: onequestion
Right i agree but the answer is not to simply just throw away every application that has the box checked which is what happens. Theres a point which we are reaching at which this is an unsustainable practice and it is actually dragging the entire economy down.

I would put this issue pretty far down the list on reasons why the economy is not doing well.

Massive massive amounts of money are spent on profit prisons and subsidizing these people because they cant keep themselves alive on minimum wage jobs that pay under the table.

If you are a convicted violent felon or were involved in felony larceny then you really did this to yourself when it comes to limiting the prospective job market. People's perception is felons are dangerous and their perception is their reality.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus


Guess what? Many of them are still going to run a background check and the more savvy employers will know what to say to you when the do not hire you to prevent a discrimination suit.

ah yes, you hit the proverbial nail on the head with that hammer....I know, I used to hire employees back in the 80's, it was true then, and is still true now. if they don't want you, you won't get hired, period.

whether or not using felons to create a class of manual laborers is dragging the economy down is debatable. But one thing that isn't: the negative effect having fathers locked up in prisons for noncrimes.

I was watching a video showing adolescent male elephant bulls in rut, and how they behaved without male patriarchs to help keep them in line and teach them how to "elephant" properly.

I can't help but draw the same parallel with the behaviors i see in areas with high crime and state jail/federal prison incarceration rates.

Families need parents. It is just how humans are.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

Your perspective is very logical but I think you fail to see the complexities of what's happening.

It's just not that simple.

a reply to: bigfatfurrytexan

Right.

But at what point is it illogical to hold someone's record against tem?

Ten years after, 20? When they are 60?

originally posted by: onequestion
Your perspective is very logical but I think you fail to see the complexities of what's happening.

It's just not that simple.

What is not that simple? Not becoming a violent felon?

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus

This is exactly my point.

Rather than taking things on a case by case basis you choose to paint with broad stroke putting everyone on the same level.

This is simply not the case.

I'm 100% positive that you've done things in your youth that possibly could have warranted a felony but simply never payed the consequences for.

a reply to: AugustusMasonicus
Let's put it in context how easy it is to get a felony in today's America.

When you were in highschool did you ever get into a shoving match, or even a small scuffle?

That's a felony if you get the DA on a bad day or at the end of the fiscal year and your parents can't afford an attorney.