• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a ....

Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have ......

  • Only employers should be banned from asking about any criminal history

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Landlords should be allowed to ask about crimes that are "significantly related"

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I do not know.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    39

jamesrage

DP Veteran
Joined
Jul 31, 2005
Messages
36,705
Reaction score
17,867
Gender
Male
Political Leaning
Slightly Conservative
Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a criminal record/past?


Employers and landlords should not be banned from asking about any criminal history.

Employees and landlords should be banned from asking about any criminal history.

Only employers should be banned from asking about any criminal history.

Only landlords should be banned from asking about any criminal history.


Employers should be allowed to ask about crimes are "significantly related".For example a bank asking if the applicant if they been convicted of armed robbery, theft or embezzlement or a Daycare asking the applicant if they have been convicted of child molestation,rape or abuse.

Landlords should be allowed to ask about crimes that are "significantly related".For example a landlord asking the applicant if they are a convicted sex offender or if they have been convicted of making meth.

Both should be allowed to ask about crimes that are "significantly related.

I do not know.


San Francisco Considers Legal Protection for Criminals - FoxNews.com
A legislative proposal in San Francisco seeks to make ex-cons and felons a protected class, along with existing categories of residents like African-Americans, people with disabilities and pregnant women. If passed by city supervisors, landlords and employers would be prohibited from asking applicants about their criminal past.

Supporters say it's an effort to help former offenders get back on their feet, but critics call the concept a crime in itself.

"My mother is an immigrant, my mother-in-law is a Jew and I'm a gay man. Those are all protected categories, but you're going to put a felon in there as a protected category? That's not right," said Andrew Long, a board member of the San Francisco Apartment Association.

But ex-cons contend they're immediately disqualified by employers and landlords reluctant to trust anyone with a rap sheet.

Read more: San Francisco Considers Legal Protection for Criminals - FoxNews.com


I think limiting an employer or landlord to what questions they can ask is the best solution. This still allowed employers and landlords to weed out potential threats while at the same time preventing someone who was convicted of a unrelated offense from being discriminated against.
 
Last edited:
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

If I am hiring someone, or renting an apartment out to them, I have the right to know if they have engaged in criminal activity. What would even qualify as an unrelated offence?
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

You can always lie about it.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

They can always look it up online. Why even ask?
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

Landlords should mind they own. As long they getting paid why worry over it:lol:
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

Because the last place I lived had a recent con in it and I pray I never go through such a hell again.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

Well, here's sort of the issue. There are a lot of offenses which would not indicate that someone is in any way dangerous, and are still considered to be felonies. When people say "felon" they think of a violent criminal. But the reality is that someone caught with cocaine 30 years ago who's never touched drugs since can also be a felon under some circumstances.

I find this hard to answer because I do think employers and landlord are entitled to know about significantly dangerous offenses, whether it's related or not, but "felonies" is way too broad considering some of the stuff that can earn you a felony conviction.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

I think it depends on the nature of the offense and how long ago it was. If you're applying for a job at a bank, your potential employer certainly has the right to know if you've ever been convicted of embezzlement. If you're trying to get an apartment, I'm sure the landlord would like to know if you've ever been convicted of rape.

But there are plenty of other things that they SHOULD be banned from asking about. If a 40-year-old got a DUI when they were 18, is it really necessary for a potential employer to know about it? IMO this is one of the problems with our legal system...a criminal record can haunt people for the rest of their lives and sometimes they are never really able to overcome it and start over.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

They can always look it up online. Why even ask?

Where can you look it up online?

Is there public access to police files?
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

I think it depends on the nature of the offense and how long ago it was. If you're applying for a job at a bank, your potential employer certainly has the right to know if you've ever been convicted of embezzlement. If you're trying to get an apartment, I'm sure the landlord would like to know if you've ever been convicted of rape.

But there are plenty of other things that they SHOULD be banned from asking about. If a 40-year-old got a DUI when they were 18, is it really necessary for a potential employer to know about it? IMO this is one of the problems with our legal system...a criminal record can haunt people for the rest of their lives and sometimes they are never really able to overcome it and start over.

I think if an applicant says exactly that, "I got a DUI 22 years ago", I don't think anybody would hold that against them.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

Where can you look it up online?

Is there public access to police files?

It varies from state-to-state, and sometimes even county-to-county. I couldn't say for sure that there's not a national database. I know I have had access to one, but that was about ten years ago and I honestly can't remember the specifics.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

I think if an applicant says exactly that, "I got a DUI 22 years ago", I don't think anybody would hold that against them.

Then they shouldn't mind about not being able to ask.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

Then they shouldn't mind about not being able to ask.

If the employeer doesn't ask, they won't know the truth.

Maybe a time limit on criminal convictions is needed.

Maybe within the last 10 years.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

If the employeer doesn't ask, they won't know the truth.

Maybe a time limit on criminal convictions is needed.

Maybe within the last 10 years.

Every application that I have seen in the last 10 years has had the question of "Have you ever been convicted of a felony? If yes list offense _________". Some applications only ask "Have you ever had a felony conviction within the last 7 years? If yes list offense ____________". And still more even ask if you have ever had a misdemeanor on top of the felony question.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

As for the OP, there should be limits on both employers and landlords. Don't outright ban it as that is idiotic considering the recidivism rate. However I would say that a 10 year limit is ok. If someone hasn't commited a crime in 10 years they more than likely learned thier lesson.

Of course I realize that people can commit crimes during that time and just not get caught. But that is imo a risk that we have to take. For many, the reason that they return to a life of crime after they are free is because employers and landlords make it extremely difficult for a person to get away from the life that they once had.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

I feel either a landlord or an employer should have the right to refuse anyone for any reason they wish no matter how trivial.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

People aren't born criminals, typically.
Their behavior dictates whether or not they act criminally, as opposed to gay people or those of the various races.

No they should not be a protected class.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

I helped my son in law get a job where I work. He had a conviction for assault when he was like 19. (got into a fight). He asked me if this would bar him. I told him to be up front and tell the truth. He did. They told him that by being honest and it being years ago, it would mean nothing.

If he had lied and they found out he would have never been hired. So the question can be used for many reasons.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

I helped my son in law get a job where I work. He had a conviction for assault when he was like 19. (got into a fight). He asked me if this would bar him. I told him to be up front and tell the truth. He did. They told him that by being honest and it being years ago, it would mean nothing.

If he had lied and they found out he would have never been hired. So the question can be used for many reasons.

for many, many employers that would be an automatic disqualification. i don't know what the answer is, but ex-cons need to have jobs.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

I helped my son in law get a job where I work. He had a conviction for assault when he was like 19. (got into a fight). He asked me if this would bar him. I told him to be up front and tell the truth. He did. They told him that by being honest and it being years ago, it would mean nothing.

If he had lied and they found out he would have never been hired. So the question can be used for many reasons.

Not all employers are that nice. In fact I would say that 90%-95% of them are not. Yes its a number pulled outta my buttocks. But then I have experiance in this area.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

Not all employers are that nice. In fact I would say that 90%-95% of them are not. Yes its a number pulled outta my buttocks. But then I have experiance in this area.

A better way to do things is to expunge, the public record, provided that they are well behaved after release, say for 5 years.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

Absolutely, employers and landlords have every right to know the criminal history of potential employees and renters. Landlords have a further right to know the financial history of those who will take possession of their property.

If I'm hiring someone, for my business or as a nanny, damned right I want to know if they've been convicted of a felony, and what that felony was. I don't want a drunk drug addict or child molester caring for my kids. I don't want an embezzler, thief or violent offender wandering the halls of my business.

San Francisco is certifiably bat-**** crazy. This is just another in a long line of bat-**** crazy shenanigans to come out of that asylum-by-the-bay.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

A better way to do things is to expunge, the public record, provided that they are well behaved after release, say for 5 years.

It would have to be an automatic thing. You can get your record expunged now, but the problem is that most that have commited a crime don't know this or do know it but just don't have the money to do so.

BTW just having your record expunged doesn't do enough. All that it does is make it to where when someone looks up your record all that they see is that you were arrested for it but instead of showing a guilty verdict it shows that you weren't in a vague way. In order for you to be completely free of it you also have to get your record sealed. Each process can take a minimum of 6 months to accomplish and a minimum of $1500 for each process. And even then after having gone through all of this the full records are still available to all federal agencies.
 
Re: Should employers & landlords be prohibited from asking applicants if they have a

It would have to be an automatic thing. You can get your record expunged now, but the problem is that most that have commited a crime don't know this or do know it but just don't have the money to do so.

BTW just having your record expunged doesn't do enough. All that it does is make it to where when someone looks up your record all that they see is that you were arrested for it but instead of showing a guilty verdict it shows that you weren't in a vague way. In order for you to be completely free of it you also have to get your record sealed. Each process can take a minimum of 6 months to accomplish and a minimum of $1500 for each process. And even then after having gone through all of this the full records are still available to all federal agencies.

I don't have a problem with federal agencies having this information, especially if the offense committed is a repeat, even years after the original incident.
It shows that the person was not reformed at all.

Again I don't have a problem closing all the records, related to the arrest and conviction, as long as the person has presented consistent behavior of reformation.
I wouldn't even mind it being free at point of service.

It creates a greater incentive for the person to reform.
 
Back
Top Bottom