Should an organization avoid hiring individuals with a criminal background? There is no federal law prohibiting discrimination against former inmates. Yet having blanket policies excluding those with criminal backgrounds has an ethical dimension. There are certainly legitimate reasons for not hiring someone with a criminal record, particularly when public health and safety are a concern. If the ex-convict commits a crime and harms a coworker or customer, the organization may be responsible for negligent hiring. At the same time, the rehabilitation of ex-convicts depends on finding employment. Depending on when the crime occurred and what it was, the risks to the business may be minimal. In some cases, individuals choose to plead guilty instead of fighting a conviction, which helps them avoid incarceration but results in a criminal record.
Businesses such as Seattle-based Mod Pizza and Oregon-based Dave’s Killer Bread are committed to giving those with criminal backgrounds a second chance, and they benefit from a qualified and highly motivated workforce. There is also a movement (“ban the box”) for states and jurisdictions to pass laws banning the question, “Have you been convicted of a crime?” on employment applications. These laws typically do not prevent companies from using criminal history as part of the hiring process, but they require the employer to wait until a job offer is made before a criminal background check is conducted; the offer may then be revoked if needed. There are no easy answers, but whether and how criminal records should be used in employment decisions is an ethical dilemma.

Questions 

1. As a manager, suppose you need to decide whether to hire a candidate with excellent qualifications for the position but with a felony conviction in his or her background. What factors would you take into consideration to decide whether to hire this candidate?
2. Think of a case, or find one in the literature, of a company that encountered legal trouble as a result of hiring an employee with a criminal record. What could have been done differently? What did the company do right?