question about getting a job with a felony

[gonefishin]

this is more a question about hiring practices than any law.
I have to do time in a federal institute for a little over a year
and since ill have a felony on my record, i know theres little job opportunities
but i remember when i went to a very good drug rehab place years ago, that they said
they only hire drug counselors that have actually had a drug problem in the past
so that they can relate. So my question is, since they said that, i would think that
it might be ok to have a felony (as surely some of them have records) and still be able to possibly be a drug counselor.
im wondering if anyone here works in Human resurces at a rehab place and might know.
I have a b.a. in psych and an MBA so i have more than enough education to be one
plus id really like to help people as a drug counselor that have had the brain disease that i suffered with too.

 

[cbg]

I'm in HR, and while I don't work for a rehab place I know people who do.

However, I can't be of much help without knowing what state you are in. There's a reason we ask for that.

 

[gonefishin]

I'm in HR, and while I don't work for a rehab place I know people who do.

However, I can't be of much help without knowing what state you are in. There's a reason we ask for that.

oh sorry, im in PA.

 

[cbg]

I don't think any of the people I know who work in rehab are in PA, but I know someone who is now in a different state but who, when she was in PA, worked for a company that had a working relationship with a prison, placing former inmates in jobs so that they could build up creditable job histories. I'll see if she has any thoughts for you.

 

[ESteele]

By living in Pennsylvania, your prospects of finding employment after you have completed your sentence are better than other similarly situated individuals in 45 other states. Pennsylvania and four other states prohibit “irrational” job discrimination against ex-offenders in both private and public employment.

If you apply for a job for which you are qualified in Pennsylvania, state law would generally foreclose a prospective employer from denying a job simply based on the existence of your criminal record. The major exception is if your criminal history relates to the prospective employment. For instance, a convicted bank robber cannot rely on this anti-discrimination statute to obtain prospective employment as a bank executive.

In sum, you may have a wide range of job prospects in addition to a drug counselor position following your release. Good luck.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

There's a reason we ask for that.

"We" don't currently ask for that.

 

[cbg]

I have since realized that. At the time I posted that, I had not yet realized that the question had gone away with the recent "upgrade" so-called.

 

[gonefishin]

hey CBG

thanks Esteele, that made me feel a little better
hey CBG, did u talk to that woman yet that might have any thoughts on this?

 

[cbg]

Haven't had the opportunity yet because of some family issues but I haven't forgotten.