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The Felony Checkbox

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The Felony Checkbox primarily summaries how felonies can affect citizens with a past history of criminal records, whether they are minor or major, in terms of employment. The Felony Checkbox is a question that is present on almost every job application. It specifically asks whether the individual filling out the application has been charged with or convicted of a felony. It does not ask for the specific crime; therefore, even if the crime is trivial [note: a felony conviction is not trivial], it will still affect the chances of the person getting the job. Though our society has moved on from the chapter of "inequality," it is currently present when it comes to the basics of criminal records and employment.

Contents

The Libertarian News claims, "One in twelve adult Americans have a felony conviction." After checking the "Yes" box for this section of The Felony Checkbox, the probability of the person getting the job decreases drastically. Schmitt and Warner write about how employers themselves have stated how they would probably not hire an ex-offenders in comparison to a person with a clean record. The article claims that forty percent of employers would give applicants with criminal records a chance. This indicates that sixty percent of the employers and agencies would not consider an ex-offenders application. Even though equal opportunity is in effect, notions like these show that after a felony or any other crime that stays in record is committed, the chance of going back to a normal life with a decent job is put into danger. This process affects people of color significantly because it becomes a hindrance to their success. Even without the wrong intention, employers unknowingly violate the right of this equal opportunity that every person deserves. Offenders and ex-offenders are not permitted to obtain certain jobs in all different sorts of fields. Being convicted not only means there is a likelihood of the individuals job application being thrown away before background checks and other major inquires but also brings out the topic of him or her being unable to work for government jobs.

This idea of The Felony Checkbox has also led to the idea of racial profiling taking place. Statistics clearly show that people of color are intentionally or unintentionally targeted in terms of callbacks for job interviews. Now this checkbox not only narrows down a citizen’s chance of employment but also uses race and nationality as a way to handpick specific individuals and cut down on the application load. The Felony Checkbox outlines the idea of employment being in jeopardy for current and former felons when it comes down to its role in modern-day society after a conviction and how racial profiling is used as one its tactics.

Demographics

The felon checkbox is a portion applicants fill to disclose whether or not they have a criminal background. Because the felony checkbox ultimately determines whether or not you qualify for a job, many federal laws are being passed, banning the felony checkbox. Since employers often do not proceed with peoples’ applications when they have a criminal background, these federal laws will postpone the employers’ from asking for criminal backgrounds. Instead of having a felony checkbox in an application, employers are to proceed with the application, and if curious of an applicant’s history, they may request for one’s criminal background. According to Jon Ortiz, government official Jerry Brown has signed a bill that does so for the state of California. This state law has taken effect as of July 1, 2014. These federal laws are permeating and gaining more advocates that protest for the rights of people with criminal background. According to author Michael Suede, approximately 25% of the U.S. adult black population have been convicted of a felony, while 6.5% of adult non-blacks have been convicted. About 8.6% of the adult population have been convicted for a felony. However, Michael Suede also discusses that 95% of all federal cases never go to trial. This means that 95% of people convicted for a felony did not even attempt fighting for their rights and freedoms. Majority of the 95% of convicted felons undergo the process of plea bargaining, a guilty plea by the defendant for some form of leniency by the prosecutor. The odds of a formerly convicted felon being fully liberated from the criminal justice system are slim. Because felonies are perpetuated in one’s criminal record, the convicted felon is limited when it comes to social enterprise. According to Kai Wright, a mere 17% of all whites in the United States that have been convicted of a felon received a callback after a job interview. An even smaller 5% of all blacks in the United States that have been convicted of a felon received a callback following a job interview.

Role in modern day society after a conviction

Having a conviction on your record lessens your chance of receiving employment. According to Prison Legal News, there were more than 12.3 million working-age ex-felons, and in 2008 less than half of those were employed. Statistics show that 1 out of 17 was a working aged ex-felon, however only 1 in 8 were actually working. One of the most common reasons for lack of employment is an inadequate level of education. With a competitive economy it is extremely difficult for an employer to consider hiring someone with little to no education. Prison Legal News states that 36% of prisoners hadn't obtained a high school degree and that only 11% had taken any college courses. In addition to not being able to find a job due to low level of education, felons who were convicted of drug related crimes are not eligible to receive federal student aid.(Christopher Reinhart) By having a felon on your record alone disqualifies you from working in a handful of jobs from the start. If you are a listed sex offender, by law you are unable to work around children. Obtaining a felony of any kind however disqualifies you from working for the government. Though the search for a job under these circumstances may become discouraging, there are alternative career options which are the military, construction, hospitality, or working from home. According to Recidivism, if an ex-inmates finds and maintain stable employment throughout the first year of parole they are less likely to re-offend. Before an interview is schedule a job application must be filled out answering several questions by using a checkbox. The "checkbox" found on job applications allows the employer to be aware of past criminal history. The likelihood of being hired with a felony in comparison to someone with a clean criminal record is slim. Employers want to keep the work environment professional and safe for their staff and business which makes it difficult for ex-felons to become a part of the work force despite the type of crime committed. This is why a majority of felons end up working in dead end jobs in the fast food industry such as Wendy's, McDonald's, and KFC. Even with these jobs, it is difficult to make ends meet while earning minimum wage. In 1994 The United States department of Justice did a study in fifteen states of ex-inmates who had been released for three years and discovered "prisoners with the highest re-arrest rates were robbers at 70.2%, burglars at 74.0%, larcenists at 74.6%, motor vehicle thieves at 78.8%, those in prison for possessing or selling stolen property at 77.4% and those in prison for possessing, using or selling illegal weapons at 70.2%". The relational factor between these crimes is money. While for them, this may be the only way to get food on the table, it is also only a matter of time before they end up behind bars facing addition jail time. There is hope for one-time offenders to get their criminal record expunged. This means that the crime committed is erased and no longer on their record. What is erased are normally misdemeanors however some felonies can be expunged as well. The small percentage of people who actually have their record expunged do not have to worry about the discrimination they could potentially face while filling out a job application as opposed to those whom have a detailed criminal history. This will give ex- felons a chance to be accepted for the position without a bias decision from an employer. The first step for a successful rehabilitation is getting employers to understand that ex-felons have paid their debts and deserve the same consideration that someone without a record have. When most inmates are released they are ready to work and ready for their second chance.

Racial profiling

Racial Profiling has been used against blacks and minorities for years. And it is no different in today’s society. One way that racial profiling is used against people of color is in job applications and interviews. According to the Chicago GSB that conducted a test that showed, having a white-sounding name will get you a job interview 50% more than having an African-American-sounding name. Names like Emily and Baker were used and, for African Americans names like Lakisha Washington and Jamal James were used in the job applications. They found that white names only need to send 10 resumes to get a callback compared to African-Americans they have to send 15 resumes to get a callback for an interview. One other way that racial profiling could lower the chances of getting a callback for an interview is to have a criminal record. According to epi they conducted a study which showed that, 34% of whites that have no criminal record are more likely to be called back. Blacks with criminal background were the most least likely to be called back with only 5%. The biggest surprise in the study was that 14% of blacks that were clean, had no criminal background were called back for an interview. Whereas 17% of whites that did have a criminal background were called back for an interview. This shows that race does have a factor in job employment, even with employers that say they are equal opportunity employers.

References

The Felony Checkbox Wikipedia