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ON THIS FIRST DAY OF FEBRUARY ...
a new moon, and the Lunar New Year, as well as the beginning of 2022's Black History Month...we are thinking about the background.
Typically we are all for reflection, understanding, and knowledge of individual and collective history, and how it shapes and moves us forward. But in the case of background checks for employment qualifications, a healthy look backward has become an active tool in maintaining a racist status quo. In fact, background checks can work to prevent the very healing and moving forward that looking backward is supposed to enable.
Here's a little background on our end: on any given day we refrain from posting 10% to 40% of the job posts that are submitted. When we see a lack of clarity on compensation details, or coded language within the job description, the first thing we do is reach out to the employer. Sometimes the correspondence is swift, and we can update and publish a job immediately. Other times, it takes days to reach folks and then to come to a conclusion. Regardless of the process or outcome, it takes a lot of time and energy, and it provides value. We learn something in each conversation, and many employers reflect back to us that they, too, have been challenged to think differently.
We've shared some of this behind-the-scenes work in the past, and created a visual tool to guide others. When we highlighted a job from Farm on Central via instagram last week, we were so moved by the information and the response, we wanted to highlight it here today.
It's important for us to acknowledge that there are specific situations when a background check is important. We have worked with many employers who are hiring someone to work closely with children and teens, or to have daily close contact with adults with special needs. Other times, employers may not have even noticed or remembered that a background check was part of their job description. In both cases, there is an opportunity and a duty to look more closely at why a background check is included, what it tells you about an individual, and how it impacts a person's life - because we know that the ability to be productive at a paying job is essential to a person's wellbeing:
"Work is deemed so fundamental to human existence in many countries around the world that it is regarded as a basic human right." - Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow
As we learned last week, according to the Nation Employment Law Project's Fair-Chance Employer Fact Sheets (2016), over 70 million adults (nearly 1 in 3) have records. This means that almost half of children in the US have at least one parent with a record. Employment is the single most important influence on reducing re-offenses, and yet having a record can be a major impediment to finding employment.
"Deprivation of work, particularly among men, is strongly associated with depression and violence." - Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow
Here are ways that employers can interrupt this cycle:
- Read your job description closely, and consider whether a background check is truly necessary for a position. If not, remove it.
- If a background check is necessary, only consider those convictions with a direct relationship to job duties and responsibilities and consider the length of time since the offense. Be transparent about this process, so that you don't miss candidates who might be a great fit.
- Encourage the applicant to submit evidence of mitigation or rehabilitation, and provide enough time for them to do so.
"Aside from figuring out where to sleep, nothing is more worrisome for people leaving prison than figuring out where to work. ...a study from the Vera Institute found that during the first month after release from prison, people consistently were more occupied with finding work than anything else." - Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow
We encourage continuing to question the status quo and find ways to humanize the hiring process. The backward thing is...your team and work environment will be the first to benefit.
In community,
Tay + Dor
photo by Christine Han
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