The National Association of Professional Background Screeners, a North Carolina-based industry trade group, could not be reached for comment."The industry of private screening firms, they make a big buck off of these practices," Emsellem said. "They've got better and much better at identifying and isolating employers who don't use criminal background checks. The marketing pitch goes something like this: 'All your competitors are performing criminal background checks. Do you want to take the alleged risk?'"What's never mentioned will be the growing body of evidence suggesting that after as few as three years -- depending on the person's age and original crime -- individuals released from prison are no more likely than the general population to commit more crime, Emsellem said. But failing to find legitimate work is a major predictor of a return to jail, according to the NELP report.That's part of the reason why nonprofit agencies as well as some corrections departments thro ughout the country are working to help ex-offenders find jobs."I think we've finally reached the point where individuals are starting to realize that if we have 3 percent of the world's population but 20 percent of its prisoners, disqualifying that numerous individuals from work once they get out just isn't sustainable," said Todd Berger, the managing attorney with the Rutgers School of Law-Camden's Federal Prisoner Reentry Project. Berger oversees a law school clinic in which students seek to resolve some of the issues preventing federal parolees within the area from obtaining work.In Maryland, Catholic Charities of Baltimore established the Our Daily Bread Employment Center four years ago. The center helps individuals with criminal backgrounds and limited job skills discover work. The program reports serving much more than 3,000 people in fiscal 2010. Since July, Our Daily Bread has helped place in jobs 296 of the 540 individuals who committed to the most intensive part of its program, according to Karen Heyward-West, a program manager for employment services.Our Daily Bread informs employers about tax credits available to companies that hire ex-offenders, but Heyward-West said one of the program's most effective tools is the mock interview. About 80 percent of the companies that send volunteer representatives to conduct mock interviews wind up offering to hire the center's clients, putting in a great word at their company for the program or referring clients to job opportunities elsewhere, she said."I am just going to be really honest -- there is a fear," Heyward-West said. "There are individuals, employers who think we don't want to hire those people, people with (criminal) backgrounds, individuals who had been previously homeless. That's a big part of what we have to overcome."In 1987, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the nation's workplace discrimination watchdog agency, issued a statement that declared employer policies that disqualify any job candidates with a criminal record likely illegal. Employers are supposed to consider the age and nature of a conviction and its relevance to the job. Because a disproportionate share of African American and Latino adults have criminal records, blanket policies can effectively discriminate against groups protected by U.S. civil rights law, the commission said.Still, the National Employment Law Project report found ample evidence of job ads that overtly exclude anyone with a criminal conviction.
iAutoblog the premier autoblogger software
0 comments
Post a Comment