Employers May Get Access to Applicants "Minor Offenses"

[NVMojo]

Nov. 17 – The FBI wants to start including "non-serious offenses" on criminal-history reports to employers – a move some say could unduly taint people’s job prospects and spread misinformation.

If the proposal goes into effect, many employers using the FBI’s system could discover a job applicant had been convicted for drinking in public, or had been arrested for vagrancy as a teenager, among other offenses.

"This new policy is bound to destroy a lot people's lives," said Roberta Meyers-Peeples with the Legal Action Center, which helps people with criminal records rejoin the workforce.

In joint comments filed with the FBI, labor and civil-liberties groups warned that the plan, coupled with other efforts to expand the criminal-data system, would foreclose employment opportunities for an untold number of people, disproportionately impact people of color, and invite the abuse of sensitive information.

Under the proposal, which has not yet been finalized, the FBI would report minor offenses on "rap sheets" – records used by employers for screening job and licensing applicants and employees. These offenses – which can range from traffic violations to urinating in public – would be reported through the FBI’s nationwide fingerprint databank.

more...

http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/3903

[Solon]

1. How the fuck would a teenager's offenses be on these records...

aren't most of them expunged from the record after the teenager reaches the age of 18?

[Taverner]

3. They are...but only if the 18 year old signs to have them expunged

One of the many great things Ronald Reagan did as Prez :eyes:

[Solon]

5. Damn, that must suck...

Granted, I never been inside a courtroom outside of being sued, once, but seriously, that would suck, its almost as bad as asking for follicle tests for drugs.

[Gormy Cuss]

12. Even if the record is expunged from state records, it may be on the FBI report

Local agencies and courts reporting outcomes to the FBI was a problem when I worked for an LE agency years ago, and the article quotes a privacy specialist saying this is still true.

I suspect the FBI wants to release minor offenses because it's easier to dump the whole record rather than review each offense for level of severity.

We processed expungements for young adults. These were all middle class and upper income kids who had good lawyers. Expungements were written into the sentence -- the case was 'filed' (which meant no sentence or fine was imposed) and as long as there were no more arrests for X years the case would be expunged.


On edit: the writer of the linked article referred to the Urban Institute as a liberal think tank. Not true. They are nonpartisan and strive to report results as neutrally as possible.

[Mythsaje]

2. And the ultimate purpose of this would be...what?

To make it harder for thousands, if not millions, of people to get a job?

I can't imagine any other possible use for this info other than to disenfranchise even more people than the system already does.

[angstlessk]

4. But if you are from Mexico..you HAVE no record...cheaper to hire n/t

[anotherdrew]

36. yes, and H-1B's have no records either n/t

[acmejack]

6. That would certainly be the net result.

What are these people doing? Already poor credit makes one almost ineligible for a decent job, which is pretty odd, if you consider it. If you had any money, you probably wouldn't be seeking work. But that's another story.

The police state draws ever closer. If the fearful public would watch the events in the UCLA Library last evening perhaps they would realize they are not made a bit safer by these ploys!

[NVMojo]

8. agreed ...soon the police state will be requiring us to wear uniforms

and will be banning all information sources outside of their power realm.

[Canuckistanian]

21. You know, I don't even try to make sense of this stuff any more

It just seems like government is at war with it's constituency - and the constituency loses every single battle. Where are the much-praised "smaller government" conservatives NOW? This probably won't even rate a 17th page gutter blurb in the major newspapers.

But, of course, for high government positions and top corporate gigs, even criminal records don't seem to be an obstacle. But if you're desperately seeking employment and will accept almost anything... the odds are stacked against you.

[pitohui]

24. purpose is to legalize job discrimination against black and poor

people who tend to get arrested for loitering are people who can't afford air conditioning or their electric is turned off because they can't pay the bills -- hence they must hang out outside on a hot day

this will be a nifty way for employers to deny jobs to poor people, especially poor blacks, who are much more likely to be picked up for loitering than middle class white teens

if there is any lawsuit for discrimination, employers will throw open hiring records and say, see, we don't hire ANYONE who has a prior arrest, even for loitering

a great way to guarantee that no person from a poor family can make a move into a decent job

who says we don't have a caste system in usa?

there is a very limited number of good, safe, well-paying jobs out there and the powers that be see no reason why ANY of those jobs should go to a poor kid, no matter how talented, when there are rich and upper middle class kids also scrambling for those jobs

[villager]

7. how *does* one start a friendly neighborhood data scrubbing business?

Hackers, there's lots of work for you, in the years ahead...

[Katzenjammer]

33. Taking over the government is about the only effective way (nt)

[Mythsaje]

9. And this isn't being covered by the Corporate Media WHY?

Oh, that's right. What was I thinking?

Add this to the list. Or include it under the heading "not telling us about things that destroy Constitutional protections."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=2745384&mesg_id=2745384

[Trillo]

10. More Transparency!

For little citizens who need a job to survive.

So, where's the Energy Meeting minutes from 2001? Yada, Yada....

[jwirr]

11. I have three young grandsons - all minorities - who have finally

settled down with families and are serious about making a living but cannot find jobs because of shit like this. You lose your drivers license because you were unemployed and could not pay child support so it started to pile up - what do they do? Take your drivers license away! Now you cannot even look for a job and it shows up on police records so no one wants to hire you. You smoke a little pot or drive above the speed limit and you cannot find a job because you are some kind of criminal. Too bad you didn't just get a contract with the government and fail to complete the job like Helliburtin & Bechtel did.

So how is a young person to manage to grow up when all the doors are closed. It isn't as if we didn't do many of the same things when we were younger. It is their fault that they got into the trouble but if we close the doors to them then it is our fault.

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. I am also worried for my kids

[rocktivity]

13. If the offenses AREN'T serious--WHY BOTHER???

Driving while drinking is one thing, but drinking in public???

:headbang:
rocknation

[pitohui]

26. see post #24

the purpose is a backdoor legalization of discrimination against the underclass

i can sit in my air-conditioned living room and drink blender margaritas in front of my wide screen teevee and break no law

but if i am poor and the light company has turned off my power, making it too hot to stay inside safely until the cool of night, then i am going to hang out and drink beer from a cooler in the yard

thus my same behavior, kicking back and having a few on a hot afternoon, has suddenly become an offense because what was done in private is now being done in public on a front stoop or street corner

the real offense is being poor and employers are seeking any legal way possible to eliminate their responsibility to give an equal opportunity to those who are "not of our class" or "not of our kind"

the purpose is classicm/racism, beyond a doubt

[Spangle]

14. So much for paying ones debt to society.. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

16. Obiously, the only hope some kids have is to be born into wealthier homes,

with parents who can hire good enough lawyers to arrange reduced charges for the offenses which send other kids into the system, events which apparently can seal their fate now, if this proposal is approved.

Yeah, you really need to try to get into a wealthier family, while a pre-born, pre-conceived person.

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. There have been a couple teachers in my school district

who have lost their jobs because the district now does background checks on all of us and they uncovered past misdeeds. One of them was a DUI from 35 years ago.

[SoCalDem]

18. Once it's on your "permanent record" , it's NEVER gone

Our middle son was a hell-raiser, and I cautioned him to NEVER ever lie about the shit he did when he was a teenager, because if anyone reallllly wanted to find out, they could..

He has always included his "wayward past" when he's been hired, and 99% of the time, the interviewers have shared storied of THEIR past behavior, and credited him with brownie points for being honest enough to come clean.

[jwirr]

22. Good point - I will tell my boys about that.

[razors edge]

19. Then we will finally get

bush and cheney's full DUI arrest info. NOT.

[followthemoney]

20. Why the special favors to the employers?

I want to know if my efin Boss is a crook.

My boss gave me a memo saying I have no expectation of privacy in the workplace.

I told him by that virtue of my ownership of stock in the company, he works for me and I too have a right to keep an eye on my employees.

[williesgirl]

23. Who has the final say on this? We need to find out. recommended

[Ms. Clio]

30. yes, I agree, this needs some genuine concerted action

we have to push back against this shit.

[Pavulon]

25. My employer would not give a shit

unless the crime involved theft or some major felony. As long as I can get to work and make money for them.

I have not been arrested for the masses of stupid things I have done but if I had no one would give a shit.

When I told them what i did when it was required to get clearance they laughed.. Have you ever smoked marijuana, etc. As long as you tell the truth, no problems.

[pitohui]

27. are you white?

i'm not asking to give offense and the answer is really none of my business but many an employer who "doesn't give a shit" for one person, would use the excuse of the arrest not to hire another person

if there were two people waiting to be hired, same degree and experience on paper, but one is from a poor background, maybe has an accent, maybe has skin a little darker than other workers at the firm, and that person also has a loitering complaint -- be real, the person who appears "to fit in better" will be the pick

the arrest will relieve the employer of any real possibility of being sued for discrimination, it gives a new layer of deniability

[Pavulon]

31. Yes and I now hire people

Hiring people is simple. I take the most qualified person, period. I follow eeoc rules but do not have to hire anyone based on quota.

I grew up in integrated schools played sports and served with blacks, serving in different roles in their civi jobs.

I do not hire fuckheads, they are a danger to themselves and others. Done wrong my area of work can injure and kill. Machine tools are only as smart as the person using them.

I would not give a shit of someone has a dwi or simple possession charge in the past. If they have a embezzlement charge or violent crime no way. Saves me having to fire them later.

We bring equipment in and train people to use it around the world. This allows me the pick of the best.

You assume the employer is looking to not hire minorities. My role is to hire people smarter than me. I do not give a shit about race color or creed.

My team is racially balanced, I hire multilingual folks but everyone has to tech out. There are very few machine operators who are women, I just dont get applicants. There are plenty of programmers but not people who can write code and have that mechanical gift. (not saying they are not out there)

[TankLV]

28. I MIGHT have approved of this ONLY IF bunkerboy's records were also retroactively included...

along with all other repuke hypocrits...

Since that will never happen, this just plain STINKS TO HIGH HEAVEN...

[krabigirl]

29. This is scary...

It's pretty damn scary that, if this law passes, employers and private agencies can have immediate, easy access to an individual's FBI file, but the individual has to file a petition to see his or her own data! There are so many potential problems with this, besides the obvious. Especially with identity theft on the rise.

Does this need to go through some sort of approval process? Does the FBI have the final say on whether this becomes law?

I really do think we are becoming a corporate police state. Why isn't this being reported in the mainstream media? And why should people in their 40s and 50s have to worry about being fired for some minor offense they committed when they were 18?!

[KansDem]

32. The irony is rich! Imagine telling your "youthful indiscretions" to get a job...

...to the next generation of Ken Lays, Jeffrey Skillings, and George W Bushes.

[davsand]

34. Locally you can check court history by name.

Our Circuit Clerk's website is search-able by name, and that means that every traffic ticket, every collection action, any kind of lawsuit is open to the public.

Hubby's ticket in 2000 for going 13 miles over the speed limit is listed there along with the fact that I sued a self insured former employer for non-payment of medical claims back in 1998. It is ALL available on there including small claims, criminal, traffic, and civil stuff.

I know a landlord that will not rent to anybody that have ever been evicted or had a collection action taken against them. Similarly. I know of employers that routinely check that database before they hire anyone.

This kind of information is already available and most people do not realize it.


Regards.


Laura

[IntiRaymi]

35. Databases are evil.

Lists of things that can later be accessed are the worst feature of modern society. This is alot like harping at at automobiles, but the effect that 'total awareness' is having on our lives is that of something you might call 'capitalistic totalitarianism,' where the corporation's right to protect profits takes absolute precedence over individual rights.
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A SPECTRE IS HAUNTING