Employment & Criminal Records

THE MYTH

“People who want work find work.”

It's an appealing idea because it makes employment sound simple: work hard, keep applying, prove yourself, and eventually opportunity will follow.

But that assumes everyone is approaching the same open door.

They're not.

A RECORD CAN CHANGE THE HIRING CONVERSATION

Research has demonstrated that a criminal record can substantially reduce a job applicant's chances of receiving employer interest, even when applicants are otherwise similarly qualified. In Devah Pager's landmark employment audit, matched applicants were sent to real employers with comparable qualifications; the presence of a criminal record significantly reduced callbacks.

That matters because employment decisions don't always begin with:

“What can this person do?”

Sometimes they begin with:

“What has this person done?”

Those are very different questions.

STIGMA ENTERS BEFORE CAPACITY IS SEEN

A record contains information about someone's past.

Stigma turns that information into a story about who the person is now.

1.  Dangerous.
2.  Untrustworthy.
3.  Irresponsible.
4.  A risk.

Those assumptions can overshadow qualifications, experience, education, training, personal growth, and demonstrated capacity.

That is why this isn't simply a conversation about employment.

It's a conversation about opportunity.

The EEOC recognizes that criminal-history screening requires more nuance than simply discovering a conviction and ending consideration. Its guidance identifies factors including the nature and gravity of the conduct, how much time has passed, and the nature of the job. The agency also recommends individualized assessment in appropriate circumstances.

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY STILL MATTERS

Shattering stigma doesn't mean pretending that individual choices don't matter.

Preparation matters. Reliability matters. Qualifications matter. Accountability matters.

But personal responsibility and structural barriers can exist at the same time.

Someone can do everything we tell them to do, complete training, earn credentials, develop skills, prepare for interviews, apply repeatedly, and still encounter doors that close because of a record.

That is why the Myth Buster card asks a harder question:

When opportunity is denied, why do we blame effort?

The question isn't meant to remove responsibility.

It's meant to make sure we're assigning responsibility accurately.

FROM RECORD TO CAPACITY

Employers have legitimate responsibilities to evaluate candidates and make appropriate hiring decisions. Certain convictions may also legally restrict particular occupations or legitimately relate to particular job responsibilities.

But evaluating risk is different from treating a person's entire history as their identity.

A better question is:

Are we evaluating demonstrated capacity—or reacting to the story we've attached to the record?

That's where stigma becomes visible.

And that's where we can begin to shatter it.

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SHATTER THE STIGMA

A record tells us something about a person's past.
It does not tell us everything about their potential.

When we make room for context, growth, demonstrated capacity, and individual assessment, we create more room for people to compete on what they can actually contribute.

Stand with us. Shatter the Stigma.

Continue Exploring

Return to the Dynamic Tabling experience to explore more myths, assumptions, and hidden realities surrounding people impacted by the criminal legal system.

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Sources / Learn More

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission — Criminal Records
Practical employer guidance on considering criminal histories, including relevance to the position, time since the conduct, accuracy, and opportunities for applicants to explain their circumstances.
EEOC Criminal Records guidance

Devah Pager — “The Mark of a Criminal Record”
The landmark employment audit demonstrating that otherwise comparable applicants experienced substantially different employer responses when a criminal record was present.
Read the research paper

Prison Policy Initiative — Collateral Consequences
Research and resources examining employment and other barriers that continue after incarceration, including the role of stigma.
Explore the research