Convicted persons struggles in a world of judgmental people.
The choices that I have made will determine my destiny for the rest of my life. I believe that mistakes are supposed to shape us into more productive people. However, if never given a second chance, how can I show that I have learned from my bad choices, constantly being reminded of them?
Being convicted of two counts of Grand Larceny in 2002 for writing checks against my own checking account without available funds has changed my entire life. Unable to secure employment due to criminal background checks is very frustrating. In retrospect, I would never have made that stupid mistake, knowing what I know now. How am I supposed to support my five children and family? That is the unanswered issue. Society has it set up so that once you are convicted of a crime you may as well continue that lifestyle because the community will not allow you to move forward. Constantly reminding me of what I did in my past. I regret what I did. However, I paid the price, and now I would like to move on with my life as an upstanding citizen, work everyday, pay taxes, vote etc... How long will this last? Not for the rest of my life I hope. It's been 6 1/2 years, no probation/parole, no additional criminal acts. Yet I am still unemployed.
Seeking employment can be very frustrating for a convicted criminal. The application process is a joke. "Have you ever been convicted of a crime/felony" is the question. "Answering yes to this question does not automatically band you from the position that you are applying for", now that is the joke. I have found that although answering yes to this question is required if you have been convicted. However, not getting a callback is always the end result. All I receive are letters from employers stating that "due to information on your background report we are unable to offer you a position at this time". What is the point in conducting a background check if I already explained my situation on the application? I currently have a civil suit against a company that actually stated to me that they were unable to offer me an employment opportunity due to my felony convictions, they received after conducting an illegal background check without prior knowledge nor consent from me through a third party Credit Reporting Agency (CRA). It is unlawful for a company to state that to a person especially if the conviction has no relation to the position that you applied for.
When I went to court for the initial hearing, the Judge stated to me that I was wasting my time because convicted persons are not in the protected class. I wanted to cry. Being that I am representing myself it is very difficult to understand the complex Law system. However, I have found that according to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits employers from discriminating in employment decisions on the basis of race, color, gender, national origin or religion. The EEOC has determined that policies that exclude individuals from employment on the basis of their arrest and conviction records may violate Title VII because such policies disproportionately exclude minorities, in light of statistics showing they are arrested and convicted at a rate significantly in excess of their representation in the population. The EEOC has noted in its policy directive regarding the consideration of conviction records in the hiring process that four relevant factors should be used when an employer assesses the job-relatedness of an applicant's conviction record:
The nature, number and circumstances of the offenses for which the individual was convicted;
The length of time intervening between the conviction for the offense(s) and the employment decision;
The individual's employment history; and
The individual's efforts at rehabilitation.
However, most employers ignore these policies.
It is a disability that I can not collect government funds for. How am I supposed to survive? Employers do not want to give a convicted person a second chance. I would think that an employer would be more likely to consider a convicted person for an employment opportunity knowing that he/she has to re-establish a good reputation and would most likely not continue to repeat the same lifestyle. Most convicted people if given a second chance would turn out to be an asset to an employer and become a top employee.
In addition there are incentives that are put in place for employers who would consider hiring an ex-offender. Programs like the "Federal Bonding Program". This program provides fidelity bonding insurance coverage to individuals with criminal histories and other high-risk job applicants who are qualified, but fail to get jobs because regular commercial bonding is denied due to their backgrounds. Another incentive is the "Work Opportunity Tax Credit" (WOTC) is a federal tax credit to reduce the federal tax liability of private for profit employers to be used as an incentive for employers to hire individuals from eight different targeted groups: TANF recipients, veterans, ex-felons, high risk youth, summer youth, Food Stamp recipients, SSI recipients, and vocational rehabilitation referrals. I am not sure if most employers are even aware of these Incentives or if employers just ignore them.
There are allegedly many organizations that claim to assist people with my background. However, these organizations are either not evident or they run you around until you decide to give up. Most of the individuals that work for these organizations seem to not want to be bothered themselves. I am not looking for any handouts nor do I wish to revert back into a life of unlawful acts, which is not an option for me. All I want is an equal opportunity to employment. Is that too much to ask? Where do I go from here? In anticipation of a long undeserving journey that I Pray will conclude with a meaningful employment opportunity. I will not give up.
