Training addresses discriminatory workplace treatment against convicts
Prior convictions often unfairly hinder a person's chance of finding employment, especially if they are a minority.
That was the message presented Thursday evening during a virtual workplace training seminar sponsored by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Mansfield chapter of the NAACP.
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Panelists discussed topics that were helpful to both employers and former offenders, known as restored citizens.
Blanket policies discouraged
Society loses out as a whole when people who are willing and able to work are not given that chance, said Marcel Baldwin, outreach and education coordinator for the EEOC office in Cleveland.
"One of our national priorities is eliminating barriers to recruitment and hiring," Baldwin said.
Most people might not realize how many people they know who have some sort of criminal record. The severity of those offences vary, as do the number of years since the dates of the charges.
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"That's a roadblock in most instances," Baldwin said. "A person cannot get hired or they have a hard time getting hired."
Some managers might like a particular candidate, but are kept from hiring the person because of his or her history.
"We ask that they not have blanket policies saying they won’t hire any convicted felons," Baldwin said.
Instead, the EEOC encourages employers to consider the severity of the initial charge, the amount of time that has passed since the conviction and how that offense might relate to the position being sought.
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Sometimes a crime should bar a person from employment — an example used during the seminar was that a pharmacist who was illegally prescribing medication probably should not be hired into a similar field.
Those who experience discrimination are encouraged to report it immediately.
'This is appalling'
There's nothing discriminatory about a potential employer obtaining a background check. There is an issue, though, with that information being used in an unfair way.
The first thing employers should keep in mind is records often are misreported in situations where two people have the same name, or there are family members who have similar names.
"Sometimes these criminal records are simply not accurate," Baldwin warned.
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Data shows more people are obtaining criminal records each year. In 1991, only 1.8% of the nation's population had served time in prison. By 2007, 3.2% of adults had been jailed.
There were racial disparities in the numbers, too. Only 1-in-17 white men are expected to serve time in jail, but that number jumps to 1-in-6 for Hispanic men and 1-in-3 for African American men.
"Folks, this is appalling," Baldwin said.
Injustice takes many forms
Discrimination can occur to anyone and to prove it, Baldwin offered a series of cases he had investigated throughout his career.
One case he remember well involved a white man who lived in Mansfield. He was recently out of prison and looking for work.
"He had a conviction for a sex offense," Baldwin said. "He was probably 50 years old."
To help seek work, he went to a temp agency.
"They actually escorted him out," Baldwin said. "They said, 'we can't help you.'"
He reported the incident, and the EEOC was able to help him.
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White people can be a minority in particular workplaces, which can lead to discrimination as well. It's a scenario Baldwin has seen reported many times.
"They were being called racial slurs and things like that," Baldwin said. "We also filed probable cause in those cases."
The most blatant of the scenarios, though, involved a group of three former criminals several years ago in Youngstown.
The first was a welder with a good job. The company was overwhelmed with work, so he asked his two friends to apply to work alongside him.
"Both of his friends — one white one Black — were both qualified welders and they signed up," Baldwin said.
The company hired the white man but not the Black man based only on the color of his skin, which led to an EEOC investigation against the company.
"They continued seeking applications," Baldwin said. "Folks, this is what we're talking about."
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Training addresses discriminatory workplace treatment against convicts
