is it discrimination? ?

[loana]

New York state .. Hi i applied to target distribution they called me for an interview , in the interview they asked if I've ever been arrested at first i said no but i dont like lieing so i said i have but it was when i was 16 yrs old about 20 yrs ago should i still put it down the interviewer said yes so i did it was for shoplifting. .. i haven't received a call back and i called my last 2 employers to see if they've received a call from them but they haven't. . Can they not hire me cause of what i did 20 yrs ago .. ??

 

[adjusterjack]

It appears that discrimination based on criminal record might be illegal in New York State.

Read this:

http://www.ppgbuffalo.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Criminal-Convictions-and-Employment-Rights-in-New-York-State.pdf

Contact the NY State Division of Human Rights for assistance.

http://www.dhr.ny.gov/

 

[quincy]

New York state .. Hi i applied to target distribution they called me for an interview , in the interview they asked if I've ever been arrested at first i said no but i dont like lieing so i said i have but it was when i was 16 yrs old about 20 yrs ago should i still put it down the interviewer said yes so i did it was for shoplifting. .. i haven't received a call back and i called my last 2 employers to see if they've received a call from them but they haven't. . Can they not hire me cause of what i did 20 yrs ago .. ??

There have been a few changes in the laws in recent years in many states, including New York. And, if you live in New York City, you have more changes to come when New York City's Fair Chance Act* goes into effect on October 27, 2015.

There are decided limits placed on employers when inquiring about an applicant's or an employee's criminal history - but the laws that limit questions on criminal histories do not prohibit all questions of this sort from being asked. The employer just needs to be aware of what questions can be asked and which ones can't, and how and when these questions can be asked.

It is too broad a statement to say that an employer cannot discriminate against a person because of their criminal history. It depends on the type of employer and the type of employment. And an employer is not prohibited from refusing to hire a person if there is a direct relationship between a person's prior arrest/conviction and the job being offered, or if hiring a person will create an unreasonable risk to the safety of others.*

We have a few members on this forum who are well-versed in employment law (cbg and eerelations to name two). Perhaps they can go into detail on what an employer can and cannot ask in an application for employment (generally in an application nothing can be asked about criminal history) and in an interview (it depends on whether there has already been an offer of employment). They might need more information from you, however, to better determine if illegal discrimination occurred in your hiring process.


*Here are links to applicable New York Correction Laws, Sections 752 and 753:
http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/COR/23-A/752
http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/nycode/COR/23-A/753

*Here is a link to New York City's "Fair Chance Act," which also mentions the other New York state laws that apply to employers when making a hiring decision: http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/Leg...365&GUID=EF70B69C-074A-4B8E-9D36-187C76BB1098

 

[cbg]

NY is not a state I'm overly familiar with and I'm not going to have time to do any research until tonight, and maybe not even then. But I will say one thing - while they cannot refuse to hire you BECAUSE of a characteristic protected by law, that doesn't mean they have to hire you either. They can turn you down IN SPITE OF your having a characteristic protected by law, and the burden of proof to say that it was illegal discrimination is, at least initially, on you. If they have multiple candidates with as much or more experience than you, they can quite legally hire one of them instead of you - they just have to take the so-called protected characteristic off the table when making the decision.

Too many people assume, "I didn't get hired, it MUST be because of (fill in the protected characteristic here)" when actually they didn't get hired because the market is still soft and there are lots of well-qualified people looking for work. It's the height of arrogance to assume your qualifications are so superior that no one else could possibly be a better candidate than you.

I will also say that a single instance 20 years ago with no repeats is unlikely to be a deciding factor.