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No Before I Asked

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BRATLUVSPROPS

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? WISCONSIN

I HAD A FELONY CONVICTION IN 2001 HAVING TO DO WITH THE THEFT OF SOME MONEY. THERE IS NOTING ELSE ON MY RECORD. I ASKED A FRIEND THAT WORKS AT A NATIONAL STORE CHAIN, IF I WOULD BE WASTING MY TIME FILLING OUT AN APPLICATION. SHE INTURN TALKED TO THE HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGER AND ASKED IF I WOULD EVEN BE CONSIDERED FOR A JOB IN ANY DEPARTMENT THERE AND THE MANAGER'S REPONSE WAS "WE DON'T HIRE ANYONE WITH A FELONY IN THEIR BACKGROUND." I THOUGHT THAT IF THE CONVICTION HAD TO DO WITH MONEY, I COULD WORK FOLDING CLOTHES OR SOMETHING. WAS THIS WRONG OF HER? WAS I DISCRIMINATED AGAINST?
 


cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
No and no. There is nothing wrong with a store refusing to hire someone with a conviction for theft. As for discrimination, the last I heard people with felony convictions were not a protected class.
 

xylene

Senior Member
No and no. There is nothing wrong with a store refusing to hire someone with a conviction for theft. As for discrimination, the last I heard people with felony convictions were not a protected class.
How many times have you stated that? Criminal records are protected in many states.

And surprise suprise Wisconsin is one of them.

http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/er/discrimination_civil_rights/publication_erd_7609_p.htm#4.


I really like this

Can an employer refuse to hire an applicant because of a lengthy record of convictions or conviction for a crime the employer finds upsetting?

An employer may only refuse to hire a qualified applicant because of a conviction record for an offense that is substantially related to the circumstances of a particular job. Whether the crime is an upsetting one may have nothing to do with whether it is substantially related to a particular job.

So the correct answer would be more like:

Of course a retail establishment can refuse to hire or even consider an applicant with a felony theft conviction, and that would not be discrimination. Not even close.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
It may surprise you to know, xylene, that I actually do check my answers before I post them.

Since in the poster's state, a felony conviction can legally bar him from employment with a retail establishment without it being considered discrimination, my answer is correct, even if not worded exactly the way you would like to see it.
 

xylene

Senior Member
As for discrimination, the last I heard people with felony convictions were not a protected class.

I didn't realize a blanket assertion was a mistake in wording.

But I guess reading would not count as "heard" so you're right.

:p
 
Simply Wrong

"The last I heard people with felony convictions were not a protected class."

Well, now you have "heard" differently. This is simply an exception to the rule that people with felony convictions ARE a protected class: you cannot discriminate against someone who has been convicted of a felony unless the nature of the underlying felony disqualifies them from employment.

ALL protected classes have exceptions. For example, you can discriminate against clergy on the basis of their relgion (e.g. refusing to hire a Catholic priest at a Lutheran church). A female fitness center can refuse to hire a male as a trainer.

Would you have told a disabled person in a wheelchair applying for a position as a firefighter: "The last thing I heard people with disabilities were not a protected class"?

If this guy would have just taken your uninformed advice at face value and never come back to the forum, he would go through life thinking that no matter what job he applied for he could be discriminated against, which is WRONG.

This is an ADVICE forum, so if you do not know for sure that your advice is correct, don't give it.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
There are no circumstances in which someone who is disabled can be legally discriminated against. So no, I would not have made any such comment as you hypothetically describe.

A person cannot, under any circumstances, be discriminated against for race, religion, national origin, disability, pregnancy, age and gender. There are also certain absolute protections under state law.

However, there ARE circumstances in which someone with a felony conviction can be "discriminated against". Their protection is not blanket, not guaranteed and not 100%.

I'm afraid I don't see how that makes people with felony convictions a protected group. Even though they have some protection, it's not absolute, as it is with disability.
 

BRATLUVSPROPS

Junior Member
I Did Come Back

Thank You For All That You Said. Now I Know How I Am Being Treated By some People That Just See Felony And Don't Know The Situation. I Was Convicted Because A Coworker Of Mine At A Hotel Decided To Use My User Id In A New Computer System With No Passwords To Take Some Money. My User Id, I Get The Charges And Conviction. I Was Pregnant At The Time And I Didn't Want My Child To Be Born In Jail, So I Had To Take A Plea And Pray For Probation. Thank God I Didn't Go To Jail And Got 2 Years Probation. It Has Been Five Years Now And Wisconsin Doesn't Have A Way To Expunge Or Erase Records, So Thanks To The Girl I Worked With I Can't Get A Job Anywhere To Help Support My Family Because All That I Am Qualified For Is Hotel And Retail Work And No One Will Hire Me In Those Fields. In Other Job Fields, I Have No Experience So They Won't Hire Me There Either. Some Of The Reactions I Got Here Explain Why People Just Don't Care About What It Is, Just That It Is. I Do Want To Thank The People That Stood Up For Me. I Really Appreciate It. I Am Not Asking For Protection, I Just Want To Help Support My Family.
 

cbg

I'm a Northern Girl
Poster, if you have been applying for a job as a kindergarten teacher, I would have given you a different answer.

If a convicted child molester were applying for a job as a kindergarten teacher, I would have given him the same answer I gave you.

The protection offered by Wisconsin state law is not absolute and does not apply in the situation you describe. I'm afraid I don't tailor my answers to suit Xylene and I most certainly do not tailor them to suit peterslawgroup.

If I were you, I'd be looking for work in areas outside of retail. You'll have more protection there.
 

LSCAP

Member
Don' t give up.
Get some schooling, get some qualifications, and start trying again.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't the guy who built Amazon.com from nothing to a multimillon dollar enterprise, involved in some kind of problem with theft and they decided to take a chance of him?:)

Anyway, I personally know of people who spent time in jail for theft, murder and sundry other things who work and make good money.

In NY about 30 years ago they decided to check the record of all the service personnel in the schools. I think it was about 39 people who were found to have records.
After hearings the only one fired was one who lied on his application and denied having been arrested.

There are many employers who feel they don't have to hold your past against you.
 

BRATLUVSPROPS

Junior Member
That Is My Point

I Don't Have The Money Or The Credit To Get Schooling And I Can't Afford Child Care. I Have Applied To Be A Rececptionist And Still Have Been Turned Down. Of Course, They Never Say It Is Because Of My Record. If It Was A Drug Conviction, There Are Ways Of Proving You Are Clean, But Since It Was A Dishonesty Conviction, There Is No Way Of Proving That You Are Honest. I Have Been Running Into Dead Ends Everywhere I Go. I Haven't Just Applied For Retail. I Have Applied At A Wellness Center For Animals And Yet The Answer Is No. Every Time I Find Something That Is Second Shift, It Usually Has To Do With Handling Money. I Know You Are Not From Around Here, But There Is Slim Pickings When It Comes To Evening Shifts. I Have Even Been Trying To Start My Own Business With Pets And Supplies, But I Can't Get Any Loans Or Funding Because Of My Credit And My Credit Got That Way Because I Lossed My Job Because Of The Conviction. It Is A Never Ending Cycle And All People Can Say Is That It Will Get Better And Don't Give Up And I Appreciate The Positive Messages. It's Just That If You Haven't Been Where I Am, You Don't Have Any Idea How Hard It Is. I Am Not Giving Up Though...like I Said, I Am Trying To Work For Myself So I Don't Have To Worry About Anyone Hiring Me. I Am Just Having Trouble Getting The Jump Start I Need To Get The Pet Business Up And Running. Thanks For All Of Your Imput And I Didn't Mean To Be Rude, I Just Hate The Way I Have Been Treated For So Long Because Of Something I Didn't Do. It Really Takes A Toll On Your Heart If You Know What I Mean:(
 

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