HIRING PRACTICES EXPOSED - Red Carded Before the Game

Increasingly, companies are using criminal record checks in their hiring process before even talking to the applicant. The criminal record check industry has provided a readily available, popular, and inexpensive tool for pre-screening hopeful applicants. This use, now widespread, eliminates all job candidates with criminal records. People with criminal records are routinely being denied any opportunity to establish their job qualifications. Such a “blanket” approach is clearly flawed if not plain wrong; it seems not only unreasonable but also potentially illegal under civil rights laws.

Criminal background checks serve to determine the safety and security risk of candidates for employment or promotion. However, to assume that the existence of a criminal record accurately predicts such risk is illogical. Employers are using these checks as a way of determining character rather than qualification. The best qualified or even well-qualified individuals are being swept aside irrationally. These blanket exclusions provide no opportunity for employers to consider critical information, such as the nature and age of an offence plus its relationship to the job.

Another emerging aspect is the potential for covert discrimination – using criminal records to screen applicants serves as a facially neutral selection process that invites consideration and review. As such, the National Employment Law Project’s March 2011 report urges employers to reconsider their current hiring policies. An individualized assessment should take into account the nature and gravity of the offense(s), the time that has passed since the conviction and/or completion of the sentence, and the nature of the job held or sought. This approach would ensure that people with criminal records are not eliminated for youthful indiscretions, minor run-ins with the law, or more serious offenses from long ago.

Supporting this approach is the fact that a criminal record is difficult to interpret, making it a misleading tool to determine risk on the job. The BC Civil Liberties Association has raised concerns about employers using the PRIME (Police Records Information Management Environment) database for pre-employment checks. In the past, this database was considered a highly confidential tool for law enforcement. One of the problems inherent in using this database now for employment screening is that some information is being recorded as “negative contact,” a concept far too broad in scope for employers to base life-defining decisions upon. If it is going to be used increasingly for background checks, people will be demanding greater access to ensure information provided is accurate. 

This is another example of what you don’t know can hurt you. How many people can tell you with 100% certainty what is in their file? How many of these hiring managers even know what their file says about them? If you are serious about your employment search or career advancement – do your best to have ALL the answers before you become excited about an application submission. Your past experiences, hard work, education and qualifications may be worth absolutely nothing to a potential employer if you set off a red flag. 

Weeding Out the Criminal Record with a Pardon

“Maturity,” “sophistication,” “wisdom”: The adage youth is wasted on the young comes to mind when one realizes that maturity makes a person less innocent, after sophistication results from education, when wisdom yields good judgment and insight.

Here is the story of one Canadian having realized more fully the effect of using marijuana and the benefits of discontinuing the habit.

He was charged with his offence when he was just 19 years of age, in his first year of university. He was apprehended coming off the train with an amount of marijuana and some cookies. At the time, he used marijuana as a stress reducer but has since stopped.

Since his conviction, he has gone on to get his degree in computer science. After graduation, he started working as a technical support representative for a consulting company and was promoted to a technical lead position after just one year. About two years later, he moved to the Maritimes where he currently works as a software support representative.

A pardon has helped him to be able to apply to a broader scope of employment opportunities that previously were out of reach due to his criminal record. The background checks that potential employers might perform will now provide a clean slate with which he can move forward. His U.S. entry waiver will also allow him to travel freely to the U.S., which is required on occasion at his current job.

If you are in similar circumstances yourself, Contact Pardon Services Canada for help. You too can gain the wisdom that he most certainly has.

Options should you be stopped at the U.S. border.

Here is a brief summary of an article that recently appeared in The Globe and Mail. To read the original article, please follow the link at the bottom of this summary.
What should you do if denied entry because of a criminal conviction, perhaps one that happened decades ago?
Consider this hypothetical experience: Imagine you're at a U.S. Immigration checkpoint, travelling to attend a meeting or convention, close a business transaction, or take trip to Disneyland. A U.S. Immigration officer discovers that you were involved in a “criminal matter” years ago.
If you’re denied entry to the United States, your travel plans may be jeopardized, and it might even have a detrimental effect on your career – travelling south of the border is what many Canadian business people do occasionally as part of their jobs.
If so, here’s a word to the wise: Don’t panic. It’s understandable that you might become nervous in such a situation, appearing suspect to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. It might even be tempting to ramble on in a way that makes an officer suspicious. Others might lose their cool and display a bad attitude. None of these reactions would prove beneficial and could result in refusal of admission.
So if you’re questioned about your prior criminal history, think carefully before answering, and remain calm. Instead, fully disclose all your arrests and convictions, including any “minor indiscretions” that might have happened long ago as a youth or young adult.

U.S. immigration laws outline specific categories of crimes and offences that generally categorize inadmissibility offences. Canadian travellers can find themselves questioned about their inadmissibility for instances in their past involving either drug-related offences (controlled-substance violations) or crimes involving dishonesty (crimes involving moral turpitude). There are exceptions to the rule, though, and recalling as many facts as possible may allow you to make your originally scheduled flight to the United States.
Even in the event that you’re turned away that day, there’s still hope. You may be able to apply for a Non-immigrant Waiver of Inadmissibility to the United States. Or you may have to provide court records demonstrating that the inadmissibility provisions of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act don’t apply in your case.
Even if you are not technically inadmissible to the United States, you may require advance assessment by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Admissibility Review Office to advise of your admissibility in the form of an official letter.
So stay calm, don’t panic, and don’t do anything foolish. Work within the system, and if necessary, work with an expert and chances are you’ll be able to return to the United States without having to worry.
Read the full story Denied entry to the U.S.? Don’t panic. by Tony Wilson as it appeared in the Globe and Mail.