Criminal Background Checks Racist for Blacks

Employers should not be fined or have a lawsuit brought against them for discrimination when government engages in the same activity.

Are criminal background checks racist? That’s the startling new legal theory that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission unveiled this week in lawsuits against employers.

The EEOC has accused retailer Dollar General DG a U.S. unit of German car maker BMW  of violating the 1964 Civil Rights Act by using criminal checks as part of their employment decisions. The logic? Blacks have higher conviction rates than whites, and therefore criminal checks discriminate against blacks.

The EEOC alleges that BMW discriminated against blacks because it screened contractors in South Carolina for convictions for “Murder, Assault & Battery, Rape, Child Abuse, Spousal Abuse (Domestic Violence), Manufacturing of Drugs, Distribution of Drugs, [and] Weapons Violations,” and more blacks than whites are convicted of those crimes.

The suit says 70 black BMW contractors and 18 non-black contractors had criminal convictions, and the company declined to hire them. The suit seeks redress, such as hiring the plaintiffs, back pay, legal costs and more, but only for the black contractors.

In its Dollar General suit, the agency says that 10% of blacks and 7% of non-black applicants failed the retailer’s criminal screening. The EEOC calls that three-percentage-point difference a “gross disparity” that is “statistically significant” enough to qualify as discrimination.

But if the lawsuits filed are only defending blacks, then the lawsuits are also racist and discriminating. And, if criminal background checks discriminate against blacks, they discriminate against whites and all other races, Period. It appears the EEOC is prejudice.

As for myself, I have mixed emotions about all types of Background checks because they continue to punish individuals after the judicial system has punished them.

I know some will say “Well what about rapist or pedophiles?” 

Some are charged with rape for having consensual relations. They should not have the stigma of a rapist attached to their names. But one who rapes someone against their will, they should be castrated. The pedophiles should be executed.

“What about murderers?” Murder is to lay in wait to deliberately plan and willingly take ones life. In the case of murder, they should be executed as well.

Killing someone is totally different. You may kill someone in self defense and in that case, no charges should ever be filed against you. Killing someone in a crime of passion should never, in my opinion carry a life sentence or the death penalty.

Suppose you came home and found your better half in bed and you weren’t the one lying with him/her. I can see where all kinds of emotions would take place. That is a crime of passion. More than likely, you will go to jail and or prison. After you’ve served your time and are released, does that mean you should be punished the rest of your life by not being giving the opportunity to work and feed yourself?

The same applies for those charged with a felony of (B&E) Breaking and Entering. B&E covers a vast area of intent. Did the person break in to steal everything the homeowner has, or did the person break in to retrieve their own belongings after a domestic breakup. According to the law, there’s no difference.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that if one has served their time, why is an employer allowed to punish one further? In most cases one won’t be hired for 5 yrs. after a felony charge, and 3 yrs. after a lesser charge. Yet when they are released from prison they are instructed to become employed and have between 6 – 12 months to pay their fines. If they don’t pay their fines, they can be arrested for failure to pay a debt. How can they pay fines when no one will hire them? It’s a vicious cycle.

You’re also discriminated against for lesser violations of the law. If you are given a speeding ticket, you go to court and pay a fine. Then, you’re punished again by your insurance company who raises your premiums. And to top it off, the DMV puts points against your drivers license, and has the authority to make you attend driving classes which you pay for.

I don’t care how you look at it, it’s all a form of punishment and discrimination.

How many times and for how long should one be punished for something they’ve already paid for?

If you say forever, then you shouldn’t mind your tax dollars housing, clothing and feeding them because they were denied the right to work.

The right to work should apply for everyone, not just blacks.

source: joemiller.us contributed to this article

 

 

 

 

 

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