According to the U.S. Department of Labor, more than 70 million Americans have some form of criminal record. This limits their access to employment opportunities, eligibility for occupational licensure, and public benefits.
In fact, the unemployment rate for people convicted of felonies is much higher than for the general population. But what jobs are off-limits to people with felony convictions?
Once you understand these limitations, you can look into rebuilding your life, plan your career path, and pursue stable employment.
Let’s take a closer look at the jobs that are off-limits to people with felony convictions.
Federal Statutory Bars: Jobs That Are Legally Off-Limits
There are a number of formal standards that employers must meet under federal law when it comes to employment. One of these, 18 U. S. C. § 922(g)(I), forbids anyone who has been sentenced to a prison term of more than one year from owning a firearm. It affects them in such a way that they would be excluded from positions calling for a weapons permit, including law enforcement and many security jobs.
Bonding is in accordance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act in order to disqualify individuals from managing assets of pension or employee benefit plans for 13 years after a conviction or period of incarceration.
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration disqualification rules prevent people from getting or keeping commercial driver’s licenses if they commit serious offenses that involve controlled substances or felonies that occur while driving a commercial motor vehicle.
Some federally regulated industries, which include banking and financial services, restrict their hiring policies to exclude persons who have specific criminal records and backgrounds. Military service disqualifications depend on the criminal history of applicants.
The state licensing boards, which govern various fields from nursing and law to real estate and cosmetology, have established their own unique regulations.
Fort Walton Beach felony lawyer Jay Patel says that if you are charged with a felony, do not wait. Talk with an attorney about your case. Only an experienced criminal defense attorney can help you understand your options and will obtain the best possible outcome for you.
High-Barrier Industries: Healthcare, Education, and Finance
Healthcare workers need to obtain state licenses through boards that possess extensive authority to assess their criminal records. The majority of state nursing boards use individualized assessments that require them to evaluate multiple factors before making their decision about the offense.
The applicant who shows proof of treatment and maintains a clean record for fifteen years receives different weight in their nursing licensing decision than an applicant with a drug conviction from fifteen years ago.
Education positions that allow direct interaction with minors must undergo thorough screening procedures, while states use complete employment bans to block individuals who have been convicted of particular child-related crimes from working in schools.
Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act establishes employment restrictions for financial services positions at federally insured institutions that prevent hiring personnel who have been convicted of crimes related to dishonesty or breach of trust or money laundering unless they have received FDIC approval.
EEOC Guidance, Title VII, and Ban-the-Box Laws
The EEOC’s Guidance of 2012 was the Enforcement Guidance regarding the consideration of arrest and conviction records in employment decisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. These guidelines provide the main regulatory framework for the use of criminal history in the hiring process except in areas where statutory restrictions dictate otherwise.
The guidance makes clear that blanket felony conviction exclusions can constitute unlawful impact discrimination because Latinos and Black Americans are overrepresented among convicted criminals. Employers must perform individual evaluations that assess the offense’s nature and seriousness together with the time since conviction and the specific job requirements.
The framework receives support from ban-the-box laws, which limit employers’ ability to check criminal records until later in the hiring process. The National Employment Law Project reports that fair-chance hiring laws now extend to areas that contain over 80 percent of the United States population.
The law will prevent any queries in a job application from referring to criminal records and will further instruct background checks to begin only “post-offer” and so allow applicants to initially show capability for the job. Under the Fair Chance To Compete for Jobs Act of 2019, such requirements have been extended also to federal government agencies and some federal contractors.
Occupational Licensing and Pathways to Relief
The most important obstacle that prevents people with felony backgrounds from finding work in skilled trades and professions stand as occupational licensing requirements. Nursing, real estate, contracting, and barbering licensing boards have historically used their extensive power to deny licenses because of criminal history without revealing their reasons for doing so.
States have developed occupational licensing reform laws that require boards to present written explanations for their license denials while performing individual evaluations and assessing how different offenses relate to the work that requires licensing.
Individuals who receive a license denial based on their criminal background should obtain a written denial explanation while they research whether the board decision can be challenged through administrative appeal.
Several legal means could be employed to expand the job opportunities for individuals with a criminal record. Expungement removes or seals a conviction record so the individual can legally answer “no” if inquired about a criminal history on a job application in states that protect expunged records from being disclosed.
Those jurisdictions that grant pardons of forgiveness, certificates of rehabilitation, and certificates of relief are recognizing some positive rehabilitation efforts. These official judicial acts and orders limit how much employers and licensing boards can utilize earlier criminal convictions in deciding whether they will hire someone or grant similar benefits.
Key Takeaways
Federal statutory bars establish complete employment restrictions that apply to certain fields that include firearms positions, federally protected banking jobs, and commercial driving jobs with disqualifying offenses and roles that manage ERISA benefit plans.
The EEOC 2012 Title VII guidance that operates outside statutory bars requires employers to evaluate criminal records on a case-by-case basis instead of applying uniform hiring bans. The majority of the United States population now lives in areas that enforce ban-the-box laws that postpone criminal record checks until after the initial evaluation of candidates.
State licensing boards maintain extensive authority to control licensed professions, but more states establish requirements that need written explanations for license denials and need individual license assessment.
Employment eligibility restoration through expungement and certificates of relief and certificates of rehabilitation depends on the specific state laws and type of offense committed.
