EEOC Issues Federal Workforce Reports on Workers With Past Arrests or Convictions
The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) – which advances opportunity in the workplace by enforcing federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination – has released two companion reports that show “federal agencies are hiring qualified individuals with prior arrests or convictions in their background checks,” according to an EEOC press release.
The first report – “Second Chances Part I: Federal Employment for Workers With Past Arrests or Convictions” – explores how likely workers with prior arrests or convictions were to work in the federal sector and whether “Ban the Box” laws that delay the timing of background checks protect them from discrimination. Key findings from this report include:
- Between 2003 and 2017, respondents who had been previously incarcerated were about half as likely to be employed in the federal sector compared to those without records.
- Delaying inquiry into arrest and conviction records until later in the recruiting process may make it easier to root out unlawful discrimination.
- Additional research and data are necessary to assess policies that facilitate federal employment for formerly incarcerated workers and those with prior arrests and convictions.
The second report – “Second Chances Part II: History of Criminal Conduct and Suitability for Federal Employment” – examines how often background checks for federal employment found criminal conduct issues and how often investigations with criminal conduct issues received an unfavorable suitability determination. Key findings from this report include:
- Between fiscal year (FY) 2018 and FY 2020, 22.3% of suitability investigations for federal civil service positions identified criminal conduct issues.
- When criminal conduct was identified as an issue for a civil service position, 76% of determinations were favorable, allowing the candidate to work in the federal government.
- When criminal conduct was identified as an issue for a civil service position, applicants and appointees were more likely to withdraw their applications, resign, or be removed from their position before an adjudication determination was made.
The EEOC developed these two companion federal workforce reports in support of United States President Joe Biden’s Executive Order 14035 which calls for the expansion of federal employment opportunities for individuals with arrest or conviction records and requires the evaluation of barriers to federal employment faced by these individuals.
“It is our hope that the information contained in these reports will assist federal agencies in understanding long-standing challenges that the persons with arrests and convictions face when trying to obtain life-changing employment,” Dexter Brooks, associate director of the EEOC’s Office of Federal Operations, stated in the press release about the reports.
Federal equal employment opportunity laws do not prohibit the consideration of arrest or conviction records in making employment decisions unless doing so results in discrimination based on race, national origin, or another protected category. The EEOC has issued multiple policy statements on the appropriate consideration of arrest or conviction records.
In 2012, the EEOC issued “Enforcement Guidance, Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Guidance in Employment Decisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act” which clarifies how an employer’s use of an individual’s criminal history in making employment decisions may violate the prohibition against employment discrimination prohibited by in Title VII.
ClearStar is a leading global Human Resources technology company specializing in background checks, drug testing, and occupational health screening. ClearStar offers pre-employment screening that complies with EEOC guidance on criminal records and a white paper and interactive map to help explain “Ban the Box” laws. To learn more, contact ClearStar.
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