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Criminal record haunts job hunt for many

By Tavia Evans
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

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ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Dava Rogers says she applied at all kinds of jobs for a year, from fast-food restaurants to cleaners, with no success.

On every application, once she checked "yes" to having a criminal record, that was usually the end of it, said Rogers, 42. She served six months at the City Workhouse in St. Louis after being convicted of embezzlement from a former employer. She was released in 2002, but she found work only a year ago as a counselor in transitional housing for the YWCA.

"On the first few applications, I wouldn't check 'yes,' and then they would say if I explained it and didn't lie, they could've hired me," Rogers said. "When I was truthful, there was never a call back."

It's a Catch-22 that many ex-convicts face as they try to find jobs.

Some businesses use background checks to verify previous employment or screen employees who have access to sensitive company information.

But Wal-Mart, the nation's largest corporate employer, is now requiring criminal background checks for all new associates. If more companies follow suit, it could become more difficult for ex-convicts to get the entry-level, minimum-wage jobs they often rely on to get back into the legal working world.

Wal-Mart officials couldn't be reached to comment. In a news release, Sue Oliver, a Wal-Mart senior vice president, said adding another level of security to the retailer's hiring practices would "add another level of comfort" for customers and employees.

Background checks are more common because technology has made it easier to comb public records or pay an Internet service for information about a job candidate. They're also inexpensive, varying from $25 to $75 a search, based on how deep employers want to probe.

Ronald Konarik, vice president of the AAIM Management Association in Sunset Hills, Mo., said companies hire his firm to search open records for convictions and arrest records, as well as more private information, such as credit ratings and Social Security number traces that can reveal previous addresses and employers.

The danger, though, comes from interpreting too much from checks that show arrest records, for example. Jerry Hunter, partner and labor attorney with Bryan Cave in St. Louis, suggests that companies should not ask applicants about arrests because they don't indicate convictions. "Arrest charges may later be dismissed," Hunter said.
 
Meanwhile, the checks might be unfair to minorities. According to the Justice Department, minorities are arrested at higher rates than whites. Based on today's rates, 32 percent of black males will serve jail time during their lives, compared with about 6 percent of white males.

"Requesting arrest records could be evidence of discrimination under ... the 1964 Civil Rights Act because of a possibility of a disparate impact on minority applications," Hunter said.

So, some human-resource specialists suggest that companies consider the sum of an application when making hiring decisions.

"It's important to weigh all the circumstances, from references from former employers to how long ago the offense occurred," Konarik said.

"Also, look at the relationship of the offense to the position they're applying for. If they went to jail for embezzlement and they're applying for a position as a plumber now, there's little connection between the two."

But a multipage police report remains a big deal for businesses trying to avoid theft and lawsuits from negligent hiring.

Applicants with criminal backgrounds can beat the odds with a good work ethic, said Barbara Baker, advocate director for the Center for Women in Transition in St. Louis. Her clients include women who have served time for nonviolent offenses, such as credit-card fraud and shoplifting.

Baker said she stresses to clients that it's important not to lie on applications. In time, the background check will show the truth.

"Just leave it blank and try to explain in the interview," Baker said. "Talk to them about how you can be an asset in your current position. Some employers are willing to give you a chance."

She ought to know. After serving a total of 15 years for shoplifting, she has worked several jobs in home health care, gaining the trust of employers whom she used later as references. Now, she helps female ex-convicts to find jobs and housing.