Earlier this year, when Donel Fuller applied for janitorial work in San Francisco, he believed he had correctly completed the application, especially the questions about his criminal history. He listed his prior convictions and was soon hired. But six weeks later, they fired him when a background check revealed that he had a trespassing misdemeanor back in 1974.
“I didn’t even remember that,” he said. It was in ’74, 40 years ago. I put down the ones I did remember.”
Then Fuller’s plight got worse. His search for work included checking off the criminal history box, which is listed on millions of job and housing applications nationwide. He said he “felt miserable.”
“People will never get a job if they’re looking for stuff way back,” he said, saying his decades-old mistake is keeping him from getting hired today .... http://www.alternet.org
