Have you ever applied for a job that required a background check? It’s common to have that errant speeding ticket that makes you pause. But, what about a more hefty crime?
Ebony.com details how a criminal background check is keeping many impoverished people from jobs.
Criminal background checks as part of applications for employment are neither new nor illegal. However, this issue has recently been in discussion mainly due to the ease with which employers can now use the internet to research employee backgrounds as well as the manner in which employers are using the results of these investigations.
While employers are able to conduct checks and make hiring decisions based on what they find, broad screening out of candidates who appear to have criminal records can often be problematic. When background checks are applied without any consideration for an individual’s circumstances, this can sometimes create a discriminatory, albeit unintentionally so, result which disproportionately affects the poor, working-class and people of color.
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