QUESTION
Why isn''t it considered discrimination to refuse to hire a person because of a felony conviction on there record?
Asked on Dec 04th, 2011 on Labor and Employment - Minnesota
More details to this question:
I was convicted of a felony assult 4yrs ago. I spent eight months in jail and recieved 2yrs probation. I have been honest on my applications about my felony. I have been to interview and offerd positions with the company and just to make sure there would be no problems in the future I tell them that I am a convicted felon even thought it''s also on my application. The job offer has been resinded.
1 ANSWER
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Good question. "Discrimination" is a creature of statue. By that I mean that there is no right to be free of "discrimination" unless there is a law prohibiting it. The laws are written to protect people in certain defined categories. For instance, laws protect people from being discriminated because of their age, sex, religion, national origin, disability and so forth. People over 40 years of age, for example, are "protected" against age discrimination. However, unless the state in which you live has a law prohibiting discrimination against convicted felons, it is not unlawful to refuse to hire a person who has been convicted of a felony. Stated differently, convicted felons is not a category of persons "protected" from discrimination.
Answered on Dec 05th, 2011 at 2:01 PM