A City Council bill barring employers from asking job candidates if they have ever been convicted of a crime is meant to help felons re-enter society.
But the fine print of the initiative could lead to lawsuits against employers, according to one legal expert.
The bill, which is likely to become law in some form, would prohibit the commonly used "check boxes" on job applications that ask about past convictions. It also would forbid employers from asking questions about an applicant's criminal history until a conditional job offer has been tendered.
A number of states have similar laws. But Mark Goldstein, a labor and employment attorney at Reed Smith LLP, says New York City’s would go further, as it would cover businesses with as few as four employees—placing new burdens on small employers. By contrast, New Jersey's recently passed law applies to businesses with 15 or more workers.
The bigger concern is lawsuits from job seekers. To be able to reject an applicant because of a past conviction, employers would have to go through a rigorous process that, if not followed, would result in the presumption that a business owner engaged in unlawful discrimination, Mr. Goldstein said.
“I think you’d see some increases in litigation, and this is not exactly a well-settled area of law,” he said.
8 comments:
I'm thinking of moving to Texas. Anyone want to come with me?
Too damn hot. Too many mexicans. No thanks George.
Yeah,George.They'll LOVE you down there.Rotsa Ruck!
Why is it that some jackass wife and child abuser (or ANIMAL ABUSER - Mike Vick!) can make millions in the NFL and a person caught with a few ounces of pot can't even stock shelves in a shitty CVS?
If one person can't get a job because of a conviction then none of them should be able to!
That would empty all the sports teams, Congress and the Senate!
i remember the times before all this scarlet letter stuff and back then it was mailmen with no priors doing the most killing at work
the whole thing with ex-cons came around after one or two incidents which the media hyped up
Great idea. Let's have thieves, muggers, and people with anger management issues working in the stores. That will work out swell.
Most common crime to get arrested for in NYC is drug possession.
Second most common is jumping the turnstiles on the subway.
De Blasio has doubled down on broken windows, widening the dragnet, hoping to discourage a few violent criminals. It doesn't matter that just 1-2% of those the police nab for 'crimes' are the violent ones people are clamoring for protection from. Now you have a rapidly growing population that is unemployable. I wonder how many of them will turn to muggings and burglaries to get by now that they can't get a job. Broken windows produces crime. It eliminates some, but it produces more.
This 'fix' isn't the answer. The answer is to stop harassing civilians for.
Finding a job these days is difficult enough for those of us who never committed any crimes. If this legislation eliminated at least one question on those long useless online HR questionnaires, I'm all for it.
If I ever get elected, I'll eliminate questions relating to race and gender.
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