In truth, automatically disqualifying people who have criminal records from jobs is discriminatory because the practice disproportionately affects African American and Hispanic men.
Beyond that, the EEOC has ruled repeatedly that covered employers cannot simply bar felons from jobs, but must show that a conviction-based disqualification is justified by "business necessity." The legal test requires employers to examine (1) the job-relatedness of each conviction, (2) the nature of the crime committed, (3) the number of convictions, (4) the facts surrounding each offense, (5) the length of time between the conviction and the employment decision, (6) the person's employment history before and after the conviction, and (7) the applicant's efforts at rehabilitation. According to the EEOC, the job-relatedness inquiry is the most important, and focuses on whether the job position applied for presents an opportunity for the applicant to engage in the same type of misconduct which resulted in the conviction (Bednar, "Employment Law Dilemmas," 11 Utah Bar J. 15 (Dec. 1998)).
While it might not be illegal or against any federal policies to turn your nose up at an potential employee simply because of their criminal history, it should be. In some cases there are circumstances surrounding a crime that should be taken into account. It should not be an automatic disqualification as it seems to be in so many cases.
From a sociological perspective, people who are willing to knock a potential employee down because of a criminal past contribute to the cycle that most criminals struggle to get out of. Tell me, a man arrested for selling drugs serves his time, gets out of jail, and tries to get decent work to earn a living half as good as he had it before, well he can't get work because he used to sell drugs. To tell the truth, I would probably hire him because he was in a business that requires him to be smart, quick and have a plan, not to mention upselling, keeping repeat business, staying competitive...the list goes on. I might not care for the product he was selling, but hey i feel the same way about the telemarketers that call my house at dinnertime to sell me a magazine subscription. Back to my point, if he can't get legit work because of his criminal history, what do you think he's going to do to support himself and maybe his family? probably go back to selling drugs. And then it's just a matter of time before he's back in jail. While it's not your responsibility to help these people, don't you feel like maybe you could make a difference?

