HR Soapbox Blog

Giving Ex-Convicts A Second Chance

(Published June 1, 2009)

When I heard that Michael Vick was out of prison (and headed to two months of home confinement), I thought, "Already?" When I heard that he will work with the Humane Society on anti-dogfighting campaigns, I thought, "You have got to be kidding me." As much as I'd like to believe that he is truly sorry for being involved in dogfighting and now finds it morally repugnant, I can't help but feel that his association with the Humane Society is merely for show, just part of a reputation-rebuilding campaign. This train of thought went directly to the opinion that the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback, who has been indefinitely suspended from the NFL, doesn't deserve to go back to earning millions of dollars playing pro ball. That's what the animal lover in me thinks. But the HR side of me doesn't necessarily agree.

Do ex-convicts deserve a second chance? Of course they do. If they've served the time, they shouldn't have to continue to pay for their crimes for the rest of their lives.

Interestingly, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has reportedly said that he wants Vick to show true remorse before he even considers lifting the suspension. Good for Goodell, the animal lover in me says.

But when I think about an individual who has been convicted of a non-animal-related crime (i.e., less inflammatory to me), who are we to judge whether an individual is remorseful? The more important question is whether or not the individual commits any more crimes. My thinking here is along the lines of conducting anti-discrimination training. The goal isn't to change discriminatory opinions and tell people what to think (no matter how much we may disagree with them); the goal is to ensure they don't engage in discriminatory actions for which the company can be held liable. It would be wonderful if everyone got along and there was no hate, but realistically, there just must be tolerance (note that I didn't say acceptance, because that would be akin to trying to change thoughts and beliefs).

So, even if Vick still doesn't think he did anything wrong by bankrolling a dogfighting operation, he is still capable of being a star quarterback. From a purely business standpoint, that's what matters. Dogfighting has nothing to do with playing football. I can't emphasize enough the need for any employer looking at the prospect of hiring or rehiring a convicted felon to evaluate the nature of the conviction in relation to the job. An individual with a DWI conviction, for example, can hold any position that doesn't involve driving. So, if Vick can win games and win fans — who fill seats and buy merchandise — in that respect, he does deserve to play.

Having said that, of course, part of your business decision can include whether or not your company wants to be associated with the individual. After you've determined that the conviction has no relation to the job and hiring the individual doesn't pose a legal liability, you can consider your company's image. It's a valid consideration. But consider this also: Chances are, the convicted felon applying for a job at your company hasn't made national headlines, so the risk to your reputation may not be that great.

Do your due diligence to protect your company, but keep an open mind.

Gloria Ju
Editor in Chief

Posted by Editorial at 5/29/2009 12:24 PM

There's a further consideration-if no will hire an ex-convict, reoffending is practicly guaranteed. If they can't earn a living wage with honest employment, they will turn back to crime to survive. I totally sympathize with any individual who is hesitant to hire such a person, but in the big picture, giving these people a second chance is better for society.
Posted by: ferretrick at 6/1/2009 9:07 AM

Where can convicted felons go to get jobs many years after petty theft convictions. It seems that you never are forgiven and once you recieve any theft conviction you can never work again regardless of your skills.
Posted by: J. Coleman at 6/2/2009 3:46 PM

Our company does not have a policy on hiring or not hiring convicted felons. We look at the history and determine if they have any convictions that relate to our business/employee safety and then how long has it been since the last conviction. We only ask that they be honest on the applications about convictions so we aren't hit up side the head when we do a background check. We have several very good and reliable workers that have records and they are grateful to have jobs. They show it by coming to work everyday with a smile and no complaints. It would be nice of all the workers were that way.
Posted by: TN at 6/2/2009 3:47 PM

We have been very successful in the past with our program of hiring ex-convicts and have only had a few who gave us problems. But then you also have problems with non-felons, some similar, some different. In order for ex-convicts to have a chance they must have employment or feel that the time they did truly paid for their crime otherwise there is nothing to prevent them from the next crime. It is important to look at the person and not the act.
Posted by: Sheshe( Visit ) at 6/2/2009 7:11 PM

I agree that we need to be willing to hire those with criminal records. If we don't, we are dooming society to an ever-increasing gap between rich and poor and building a permanent and dangerous underclass. Hail to the tolerant and non judgmental among us!
Posted by: Jim at 6/2/2009 8:15 PM

Gloria, thank you for your thoughtful opinion. As someone who does both paid and unpaid work in the fields of law and animal rescue I focused more on your comments re: Mr. Vick working for SPCA in particular. One benefit of having a defendant work with an organization and/or population similar to the one they victimized is that their hardened heart may soften as they develop a relationship w. that group. In this way, in his own time, a defendant may begin to truly FEEL remorse for his actions, instead of just saying so. I believe that is the ultimate goal for all parties concerned.
Posted by: Su S at 6/2/2009 11:16 PM

We are committed to hiring qualified people with criminal records. We partner with an organization that works with ex-offenders. The organization provides: job readiness training; assurance that their clients' personal lives are stable enough for successful employment; pre-screening of job applicants for fit with the job; drug screens and criminal background checks; and ongoing support of ex-offenders. Before we started working with this organization, we hired ex-offenders, but had many poor experiences largely because the individuals' personal lives were out of order and they had no support network. Since we have worked with this organization, unfortunate experiences are much less common and we have good, committed employees.
Posted by: Sara in Chicago at 6/3/2009 8:56 AM

I thought Michael Vick got too much time in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I love animals and what he did was wrong, but if you took someone's life, some instances they didn't get much time. I think most convicts should have a second chance.
Posted by: Donna at 6/3/2009 11:17 AM

Although I'm a dog lover I agree with Donna. Pro sports are full of criminals who have much more serious crimes, against humans, who are still allowed to play and endorse products!
Posted by: Martha at 6/3/2009 11:27 AM

Just for giggles and snickers, what about all the politicians who have some level of criminal offenses? Do we rehire (elect)? Who is the HR person responsible for their work and/or pass record? Things that make you say, hummmm.
Posted by: Mel Olson at 6/3/2009 11:54 AM

If you look at overall recidivism rates (somewhere in the 90+percentile), an employer must be cautious with this practice.

Having said that, I have had a couple of notable success stories with giving the right person a second chance. I will say that the interviews with folks that have a criminal record is very revealing. I think you must have an eye to eye, no bs discussion that is very open and frank regarding history and regarding expectations. You have to find how strong their character is and how the baggage they carry has impacted them.

We can still be fooled, but so far I have had good results. I have passed on several. In the end, my decisions were based on gut instinct.
Posted by: Marc Nicolet at 6/3/2009 12:44 PM

While I do agree that those who have served their court-appointed time have then repaid society and deserve to enter back in and work to survive like the rest of us. But we do need to be mindful...don't hire ex-cons into settings where they could be tempted to commit crimes. For example, we would not want to hire Madoff to work in a bank or a child predator to drive a school bus. Still, where do we draw the line. Would we hire a Madoff type to work a cash register at Walmart? Or the predator to restock the store? He's not directly working with children...and Madoff would not be working with major cash. Where do we draw the line. It's a bit fuzzy.
Posted by: Vickie at 6/3/2009 3:54 PM

We used to hire ex-offenders. Unfortunately we had a less than desireable experience and in time our plant began to take on the characteristics of a prison yard. We had those who intimidated others, those who attempted to turn the morale into "us vs. the man," and those who turned into the resident drug dealers. I can honestly say of the dozens we hired, only two actually turned out to be stellar employees. We have a zero tolerance drug policy and discovered they were cheating on drug screens. Once we switched to hair follicle testing we weeded out the problems, one person at a time. We have changed our hiring practices and while we see applicants who are qualified to do the job and seem remorseful, we pass.
Posted by: Tamara at 6/3/2009 4:49 PM

I agree with the comment indicating that you should look at the crime against the line of work. If a person has done their time they should be given the opportunity to have employment. They can't take care of themselves nor their families if no one will hire them
Posted by: Tish at 6/17/2009 4:50 PM

i have been released since 1994 at age 15 i was convicted and served my time as a model inmate now i have a family and no income i have been repeatedly turned down for every job i applied does anyone know a resource for help in jacksonville fla,please help!i have been clean and free of any trouble since my release in 1999 and no violent,sex or drug convictions im losing hope.
Posted by: micah at 8/25/2009 9:03 AM

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Giving Ex-Convicts A Second Chance