The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission recently approved new guidelines on the use of criminal background checks by employers when trying to decide whom to hire.  Basically, employers are having new restrictions imposed on them when they want to consider past criminal history during the hiring process.  The EEOC states that their goal was to make it easier for minority job seekers with a criminal record to find work.

I can understand that.  Everyone makes mistakes, and just about everyone deserves a second chance*.  But if I were to trust someone enough to let them handle my money and interact with my customers as my representative, I would definitely want to know if they have ever done something that indicates they can’t be trusted.  Part of that would be a background check that showed any convictions.   An employer shouldn’t be surprised by the history of their employees when they repeat past crimes upon the customers, inventory, or cash in the till.

Please notice that I said convictions.  If you’ve been arrested and had the charges dropped or been acquitted, you’re good.  If it’s something that happened years and years ago, we can talk about it and see if you’ve been able to get your act together.  Heck, if you just got out of prison and are looking to make a fresh start, if you’re otherwise qualified for the job, I’d probably still give you a chance to talk.

And if someone doesn’t want to submit to inquiries about convictions and a background check?  Well, then I guess they don’t want to exchange their talents and labor for my money.

But to have the government discourage business owners from even asking or considering the history of an applicant?  Yeah, that’s out of bounds.  I can see the government requiring that things that the applicant can’t help, such as race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability, be verboten for consideration.  But to discourage business owners from being able to know that the person they’re hiring doesn’t have a history that could be detrimental to business just smacks of social engineering at the expense of the part of our society that creates jobs.

*Child molesters, rapists, child pornographers, and that kind of ilk deserve to be branded under sedation so that the rest of society can know to keep them isolated from the rest of us.

Non Sequitur is one of my daily reads, and it never fails to draw at least a smile.  No, I don’t consider myself a professional blogger, but it’s becoming my main hobby.

Thank you so much for your kind email.  I am honored to know that after you just “stumbling” upon my little blog, your clients are excited to create an advertising relationship with my collection of brain droppings.  I must be doing something right if you can accidentally find my rants, musings, and bad jokes and immediately associate it with your customers advertising requirements.  

Unfortunately, I decided long ago to only put links on the blog for causes and companies with whom I have a relationship.  For example, I donate to Soldier’s Angels, so there is a link for Soldier’s Angels.  I know the proprietors of Michael’s Custom Holsters and Dragon Leatherworks, and I am a customer of those fine companies, so I put up links to their sites.  I think you get the idea.

But I draw the line at putting up advertising for companies with whom I don’t have much of a connection beyond a monthly check.  This is pretty much a hobby and self-administered catharsis for me, so I don’t put up advertising for companies I have only a slight connection to.  And to be honest, making this a commercial enterprise would create ethical issues for me.

However, if your clients wish to send me examples of their wares so that I can test them and put up a review, I’d be more than happy to do so.  Heck, I’ll even ship the product back when I’m done if they want. But I’m not interested in being paid for advertising space on the blog.

If you truly like my blog and are now reading it, you’ll see this message.  If you think we can do business on mutually agreeable terms, then please contact me again. If not, then I wish you luck in the future, but I don’t need to continue to get emails on a regular basis from you and your associated websites.

Again, good luck, and I hope to hear from you again soon.

Sincerely

Daddy J. Bear