Can my application for employment be denied based solely on the fact that I have a felony conviction from 5.5 years ago?

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Can my application for employment be denied based solely on the fact that I have a felony conviction from 5.5 years ago?

Every time I go to a job interview and they ask if I have any felonies, I say yes and then they act like it’s no big deal. However, then I come to find out later that my employment was denied because of it. I’ve heard this is a form of

discrimination. Is this true?

Asked on October 3, 2017 under Employment Labor Law, Alabama

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 6 years ago | Contributor

Unfortunately, legally, it is not a form of discrimination. Employers are allowed to discriminate unless the thing they are discriminating on is specifically prohibited by law: that's why you can't discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, age 40 or over, sex, or disability, because the law prohibits those specific forms of discrimination. But any type of "discrimination" not prohibited by law is legal: for example, an employer can refuse to hire you because he doesn't like your politics, your clothing or ink or piercings, your taste in music or television shows, the state you grew up in, whether or not you own guns, or whether or not you like football; there is no protection for any of those things. And unfortunately, there is no protection for having a criminal record, even an old one; an employer may legally refuse to hire you on this basis.


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