Imagine you were a skilled tradesperson. Say you were a licensed barber who got arrested and convicted of a drug offense. You complete your sentence, all the while dreaming about reopening your small, community-based barber shop. When you attempt to renew your barber’s license, you are told that it cannot be done, because now you are a convicted felon, and in many states, convicted felons cannot be barbers. A reasonable person might ask, “Why not?” Unfortunately, there is not a reasonable answer for denying a barber a license to ply his or her trade just because they have a felony conviction. In a recent Crime Report article, Lisa Riordan Seville suggested that outdated and stereotypical views of felons play a large part in keeping skilled workers from finding honest employment. Barbers are known to use straight razors, therefore a convicted felon might use that razor to slash someone, or so someone without factual evidence might believe. An ex-barber with a felony conviction could be a pacifist, but that fact will be ignored.
Laws prohibiting felons from obtaining certain jobs have some legitimacy. A convicted pedophile should not have a job that requires the supervision of young children. Someone convicted of embezzlement probably would not be a wise choice as a bookkeeper. Although people do change, sometimes a crime will prevent felons from obtaining employment in their previous field for the rest of their life. Laws barring a felon from certain occupations vary from state to state, and most bans make little, or no, sense. The fact that some of the most egregious workplace crimes are committed by non-felons seems to elude most people. The words “disgruntled postal worker” has led to the expression “going postal” a term used to describe a person who commits an act of extreme violence. Well respected business moguls who rose to the top of their corporation hierarchy ladder have robbed their companies of millions of dollars before getting caught. Yet these people all passed criminal background checks.
Skewed public opinion based on sensationalism, rather than facts, have some legislators rushing to pass laws with little thought to the consequences that will inevitably occur. Seville relates that when a driver crashed his bus, killing 15 people, there was a storm of concern that the driver had a felony conviction, and maybe was driving with a suspended license. The fact that bus companies routinely send overworked drivers on long trips, with little sleep, on busses that are not up to safety standards, was put on the backburner. The announcement that the driver was a convicted felon is sure to spur some legislators to create laws barring felons from operating busses, while bus company owners continue to ignore safety concerns.
Seville found that felons are barred from many jobs, despite having been convicted of a crime that has no relation to their occupation. Some bans are for a crime that is directly related to their job. In Mississippi, for example, a massage therapist whose crime was linked to his or her job will be denied a license. In Florida and North Carolina, those felons whose crime was connected to their job in the electrolysis field are also banned from obtaining a license, but in Wisconsin attorneys with a conviction are still able to practice law.
But many states bar felons from obtaining a license simply because they are felons. Felons in Illinois are barred from 57 occupations, including being a roofer, barber, nail technician, boiler repairer, interior designer, or even a boxer, claims Seville. In Nevada, a “dishonest person” cannot survey land or be a licensed engineer. Delaware felons cannot be an accountant, chiropractor or architect. In most states it does not matter how long ago a crime was committed, or what the crime was. Have “Felon” stamped on your record and your preferred occupation may be unobtainable.
Those trying to bring about criminal justice reform have had some success in some areas. The Ban the Box movement has been able to have a section of a job application, which asks if a person has a felony, removed in several cities and states. This at least allows a person to get a foot in the door for a job interview, but does not guarantee employment. Others are urging their state legislators to reexamine laws prohibiting felons from obtaining job licenses, or from barring felons from working in certain fields altogether.
Criminal justice reform advocates are urging employers to hire the best qualified person for the job, rather than settling for someone who is less qualified, but without a criminal conviction.
In 2007, the American Bar Association passed a resolution that urged federal, state, territorial, and local governments to require government, professional, and occupational licensing agencies to consider the following:
1) Conduct an inventory of employment and licensing restrictions and disqualifications based upon a criminal record for each occupation under the agency’s jurisdiction.
2) Eliminate or modify, to the extent authorized, any such restrictions or disqualifications that are either (i) not substantially related to the particular employment or (ii) not designed to protect the public safety.
3) Provide for a case-by-case exemption or waiver process to give persons with a criminal record an opportunity to make a showing of their fitness for the employment or license at issue, and provide a statement of reasons in writing if the opportunity is denied because of the conviction.
4) Provide for judicial or administrative review of a decision to deny employment or licensure based upon a person’s criminal record.
While the U.S. has a long way to go in rescinding outdated, ill conceived, and irrational laws, some progress is being made. Lawmakers and the public are now realizing that millions of qualified workers are denied entry level jobs because of a prior conviction, and that skilled laborers and professionals are automatically dismissed from employment for a past felony or misdemeanor unrelated to their chosen field.
Sources: Crime Report and American Bar Association
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