NCJ Number
151371
Journal
Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology Volume: 9 Issue: 2 Dated: (October 1993) Pages: 73-76
Date Published
1993
Length
4 pages
Annotation
A survey of human resource professionals and employment attorneys gathered information designed to establish guidelines regarding what represents a reasonable amount of time to wait before hiring an ex-offender depending on the nature and gravity of the offense and the nature of the job sought.
Abstract
A questionnaire containing 12 items relating to the type of offense, gravity of offense, and relationship of offense to job was mailed to 500 human resource professionals and 500 employment lawyers selected at random from their professional directories. Responses came from 136 human resource professionals and 88 employment attorneys. Findings revealed significant main effects of all variables and that the experts displayed little agreement in their answers. Results indicated that even with the guidelines of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a decision to hire or not hire an ex-offender is based on the employer's opinion. However, employers are vulnerable to lawsuits of negligent hiring or discrimination if they use opinions that lack validity. The results of this study should help employers comply with the EEOC guidelines. Table and 8 references