This is sheer stupidity in action – St. Paul gives ex-cons a break on city hiring – With rehabilitation in mind, job applications won’t require disclosure of criminal records. Honestly, what do they hope to accomplish by decreasing their information on a candidate?
We always tell our customers to complete a thorough background check before hiring any new employee. It is simply common sense that drives this approach.
Then there is the city of St. Paul:
The city decided this week to stop requiring job hopefuls to state on their applications whether they’ve ever been convicted of a crime.
My first thought was positions that work with children, but then I got to the end of the story and read this excerpt:
Nalezny also said the city conducts background checks when the applicant would work with children or have access to money or sensitive information, and would know whether those applicants have a criminal record.
Therefore, there’s no risk of a sex offender being assigned to work with children, Nalezny said.
Well that’s reassuring. What about a sex offender working in an office with many female employees? I can envision the lawsuits if the city hires a registered sex offender and they commit another similar crime at their employment.
In this day and age, background checks need to be a part of any thorough hiring process. Crimes come with consequences and jeopardizing future employment options is one of them. I think most employers are fairly evenhanded in their approach to criminal records. We have all made mistakes in the past. But those mistakes must have an accounting when making an important hiring decision.