(The New York Times) -- NYTimes.com reports, "In April, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission signaled that it would begin to crack down on employers who use the criminal histories of job applicants to discriminate against them illegally." But the story notes that many "many small businesses had no idea there was anything wrong with practices like a blanket ban on hiring anybody with a criminal record." The E.E.O.C. "warns employers not to use arrest records at all in hiring decisions. Because 'arrests are not proof of criminal conduct' ... basing a hiring decision on an arrest record is presumptively discriminatory." The story notes, however, that an employer can investigate the conduct that led to an arrest and "make an employment decision based on the conduct underlying the arrest if the conduct makes the individual unfit for the position in question." A Chicago labor law expert "warned that the E.E.O.C. seemed to be preparing for battle on this issue" and the commission is "already investigating hundreds of charges related to the use of criminal history in employment."
To read more of this article: CLICK HERE
