Background Checks: Give People a Second Chance

On every application for employment, in that respect is always a incision that asks about whether or not a person has ever had an felony charges against them, and to rationalise what they were if so. Despite the fact that employers be not supposed to discriminate against a give the gatedidate based on something like felony charges, there is no truly way to qualify whether or not such discriminatory practices were exhibited in the empennagedidate selection process. I would think it stands to reason that most employers pull up stakes take one look at that box qualifyed yes and keep that application to the no pile.And this is only one question. Nowadays, most professional and incarnate employers will conduct context checks on job candidates. This can be a problem for a person who has made mistakes in their behavior only when has changed their behaviors and is looking for honest employment, and this is wherefore the practice of running wide of the mark soil checks is b asically mountain up to continually punish those who shake off made mistakes in the past. According to secretiveness Rights Clearinghouse, many negative records are expunged from employer background checks after 7 days under the Fair recognize Reporting Act (FCRA).This includes arrests over 7 years ago, abominable records compiled by law enforcement daysncies, and bankruptcies over 10 years old. However, much of this is public record, and though a standard background check abilityiness not die this learning, there are plenty of private cultivation brokers on the vane that will track it down, and this information is often not verified by the broker (such as charges beingness dropped against a person who was arrestedthe broker might report only the arrest). As Crane notes in The alphabet of Pre-Employment screen background Checks Unfortunately, there is a lot of inaccurate information out there.Just like the mistakes that may pop up on your credit report, bad data can turn up in the course of a background check. And this wrong information can equal you a job. Not only is there a stunning lack of privacy in this age of electronics, there is also no guarantee that the information being report is accurate, which causes immediate problems for the individual applying for the job. Also, despite the fact that, for example, arrests made over 7 years ago are not supposed to be report in a background check, there is nothing stopping the employer from asking, remove you ever been arrested?, a question which acts as a double-edged sword for someone who had been arrested several years before. In the cases of individuals who might induct something in their past that theyre not proud of, information that can cost them their fair opportunity for employment is readily operational to electric potential employers, horizontal if it the FCRA specifically rules against it. Because of these Internet-based information brokers, there is no guarantee that informa tion that shouldnt be reported isnt still getting into the hands of the employer, and this is information that creates an inherent bias against the candidate in the employers mind.Information about long-ago prior arrests, fiscal irresponsibility in the form of previous bankruptcies, and criminal records which are not part of the public domain are easy acquired in a background check, and potential employers use this information as a major strike against the candidate. There is plenty of other information that is legitimately acquired in the course of a background check that can be detrimental to the perceived character of the person applying for the job.Information such as driving records, credit reports, interviews with neighbors and former employers, medical records, court records, and drug rill records (just to name a few) are all standard-practice as part of an employer background check. Checking the box that authorizes an employer to conduct a background check opens a doorst ep into a persons past in ways they might not have initially considered and affecting their chances at employment in ways they might not even conceive.It is understandable that in the wake of 9/11 and as a result of a new-fangled surge in lawsuits due to negligent hiring practices (in which an employee caused harm to others), employers are practicing greater caution in their hiring practices. But by going as full-throttle as they are with the extensive amount of information being made available to them, they are essentially weeding out candidates who are talented, qualified, and educated but who have a spot on their records which leads to involuntary disqualification of consideration by potential employers.People deserve to have a second chance in life, particularly when they have taken all of the steps necessary to better themselves. It is grossly unjust that a prior arrest or criminal charge, oddly one that isnt even supposed to be part of a standard background check, would f ollow a person for the rest of their work lives, making it impossible for them to work in a professional plain stitch (especially when the rules as set by the FCRA are moot in cases involving presidency positions or positions that pay $75,000 per year or more).Lets say a person, Joe Doe, has an old petty larceny charge, which many states consider a misdemeanor, but then loses a potential job offer because of it. The system is set up to continually punish those who have made mistakes in their past. In the above example of the felony charge check box (and a felony can be as simple as extorting $2,000 or being caught urinating in public), there is no way to avoid checking yes when the proceeding background check will show all of the related information, and act as an automatic disqualification for a persons employment.When background checks are so permeating and INVASIVE, what other options or opportunities does a person have left? This is why the system commands to be changed, an d tighter restrictions need to be placed on what information is made available to the public. No record older than 7 yearscriminal, felony, bankruptcy, or otherwiseshould be made available for anyone to see.Only in the cases of serious potential endangerment (such as the higher-level sex offenders) should records older than 7 years be made public otherwise spate are being continually punished for old mistakes that they have more than rectified by paying their dues (either with community service, probation, monetary repayment, etc. ). It isnt just that a person shouldnt lose an opportunity due to long-ago mistakes the honesty is that employers WILL and DO discriminate based on that.In order for people to have the second chance they deserve, the restrictions on background checks and public records need to be tightened, to protect people who are trying to rehabilitate themselves. Otherwise, there is no rehabilitation to be had because the chance is never really given. References Cran e, Amy B. The ABCs of Pre-Employment Background Checks. Online. Available www. bankrate. com Fair Credit Reporting Act. Online. Available www. ftc. gov Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. Online. Available www. privacyrights. org