When you are convicted of a criminal offense, you carry that conviction with your indefinitely, sometimes for the rest of your life. But sometimes, people who have never even been arrested find themselves being disqualified from a job due to a criminal record. A lengthy report from the New York Times discusses why this happens and what’s being done to protect those folks who simply want to work.
About half of all employers ran background checks on applicants in the 1990s. Now that number is more than 90%, according to the Society for Human Resources Management. Employers want to know that they are hiring individuals they can trust, and for many this means people convicted of criminal offenses need not apply.
While background checks used to be conducted by someone going down to the courthouse and sifting through records, technology has changed all that. Now, most states allow criminal records to be accessed online, and numerous data mining companies are there to make millions off compiling and delivering this data to would-be employers.
The problem is that not all of these records are correct, updated, or processed in a manner that preserves integrity. And the companies who scour the web in search of criminal records to sell, often don’t seem to care about those folks who might not get a job or be able to pay the bills due to their mistake.
There are cases where an applicant is refused a job because someone with the same name has a criminal record, and the company providing the background check didn’t note the difference between the two names. Other cases involve charges that were dismissed or later cleared off the person’s record, but these updates are not being recognized by the background check companies.
Employers spend around $2 billion a year on these background checks, and the companies that provide them stand to make a bundle. Many states have fought back, limiting automated programs from accessing their records online or requiring these companies to purchase the data and updated information as it comes.
Still, some companies are accused of not updating or fact-checking their information. North Carolina, for example, has blacklisted eight different background check companies for “repeatedly disseminating bad information or failing to download updates.” The companies, of course, refute those claims.
Many of these companies have been named in lawsuits from the people who were most affected by their errors. Still others, however, simply move on to the next available job, hoping no background check will bring up bad news.
This battle is one that’s not only fought by people who are mistakenly being labeled as criminal convicts, but by those who actually have a legitimate conviction on their record. One conviction doesn’t make you a bad person or untrustworthy, but many employers feel this way.
Maintaining employment is one barrier that people have to overcome after being convicted of a crime, and it can be a tough barrier to cross. The key is to avoid a criminal conviction on your record at all costs.
About David Matson