b'What type of in-depth analysis is required:The EEOC cites twoWidget, Inc. for 15 years, when the companys owners sell out court of appeals cases setting out a three-pronged analysis: to Conglomerate. Conglomerate wants to promote Nick to headWhat was the nature and gravity of the offense;Fidget Widget in the absence of the old owners but finds a criminal conviction for felony assault 25 years ago when runningHow much time has passed since the offense; andabackgroundcheckbeforethepromotion.ConglomerateThe nature of the position sought.refusesNickthepromotionbecauseofthissinglecriminal Aretheresomebusinessesthathavetoexcludeconvicts:event.IsConglomeratewithinitsrights?No.Theguidance There are a large number of federal and state laws that restrictbytheEEOCdoesntjustapplytoapplicantsit appliesto businesses from hiring people with certain criminal records. Forall employment decisions. As long as there is not a business example, there are federal laws restricting people with criminaljustification consistent with Nicks position, Conglomerate will be historiesfromhavingfederallawenforcementpositionsandin the wrong with the EEOC. being child care workers for federal agencies, bank employees,What Should I Do:andportworkers.ForacompleteunderstandingoftheGood:Becertainyouarefollowingallfederalandstate restrictions that may affect your business, consult a lawyer. requirements applicable to your business restricting the hiring Common Situations: ofconvictedindividuals. Avoidusingcriminalconvictionsor But were diverse: Bakery of the South has a policy againstarrests to make hiring decisions without a good connection to hiring anyone with a criminal conviction in the last 10 years. the position and your business.AnapplicantcomplainsundertheEEOCguidelines.AfterBetter:Ifusingarrestasabasistomakehiringdecisions, learning of the EEOCs guidelines and that its rule might not beobtain the underlying facts and make your own decision about legal, Bakerys lawyer argues that there is no disparate impactwhether the applicant committed the offense. Then, document against Black or Latino people at Bakery because 40 percentyour findings. Create conviction history restrictions for each job of its employees are Latino and 35 percent are Black.Areposition in your business with strong consideration of whether Bakerys excellent diversity statistics sufficient to overcome thethe restrictions set are consistent with business necessity for claim? Unfortunately, no. While it might seem counter-intuitive,that job.simply having a diverse workforce does not change the fact that Bakerys hiring practices have a disparate impact.Without theBest: All of the above, plus, document all facts considered for policy, Bakery might be 50 percent Black and 50 percent Latino. arrestsandindividualizedcircumstancesconsideredwhen But the law says I can: If the federal limitations for working inusing convictions. Be sure to draw the connection between the banksareconvictionswithinthelast10years,Bankoramajob and the need of the business in doing so. Be careful not to figures limiting for 20 years would be even better.It can pridecreate restrictions that are tenuous which might be questioned itself on the security it takes for its customers. Is this OK?Thereby the EEOC.is no clear answer, but you can bet the EEOC is going to take the position that 10 years is good enough for the federal regulations, so it ought to be good enough for you. If there are limitations in your industry, you probably should not go beyond them.Only for applicants:Nick has been a faithful employee of Fidget 10'