If you have a criminal record, you may worry about your employability in Missouri. Recent findings, published in an article by the Society for Human Resource Management, however, indicate that worry you should not. With unemployment at a 17-year low at just 3.9 percent, and with a third of the workforce holding a criminal record of some sort, employers realize that they must broaden their horizons if they hope to hire top talent and remain competitive. For many, broadening the horizon means hiring convicts.
SHRM’s president and chief executive officer, Johnny C. Tailor, says that employers should never view a criminal record as an automatic disqualifier. It appears that many employers have heeded his advice. According to findings, two-thirds of hiring managers and three-fourths of HR professionals have hired individuals who have substance related felonies or misdemeanors on their records. However, do employers discriminate in which felons they hire? The findings suggest that yes, they do.
According to the findings, nearly 80 percent of HR professionals and 65 percent of managers are willing to overlook substance related crimes. Approximately 70 percent of both HR professionals and managers are willing to overlook misdemeanors such as vandalism and shoplifting. However, when it comes to violent crimes, only 20 percent of HR professionals and 28 percent of managers find they are able to look past the crime. Even less were likely to overlook financial crimes, at 16 and 19 percent respectively. The crimes employers are least likely to overlook involve sexual assault, abuse or misconduct of any kind.
The information in this post should not be construed as legal advice. It is for informational purposes only.
