DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT ON THE
BASIS OF CRIMINAL RECORD

Click here to access:

Submission No. 47 - Correctional Services Employment Pilot Program

Comments provided by: Suzanne Marriner, CSEPP Employment Consultant and Myrna Bull Job futures CSEP program manager.

Response to Discrimination in employment on the basis of criminal record Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission – Discussion Paper, December 2004

Background:

The Correctional Services Employment Pilot Program commenced in July 2002. It is a pilot project fully funded by the Department of Justice Corrections Victoria with the primary purpose of providing prisoners and offenders with assistance to obtain sustainable employment. The goal of this project is to reduce re-offending and break the cycle of recidivism.

Job Futures is the lead organisation in a Consortium of nine not for profit organisations. Job futures CSEPP is responsible for providing pre-release services to prisoners at Correctional Services Centres including Fulham, Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, Tarrengower, Loddon and Dhurringile. The Consortium is also responsible for providing post release services to ex-prisoners and offenders at Community Correctional Sites at Morwell, Dandenong, Frankson, Ringwood, Hume, Reservoir, Sunshine, Bendigo and Shepparton.

Members of the Consortium are:

VACRO (Victorian Association for the care and resettlement of offenders)
Brosnan Centre
Melbourne City Mission
The Brotherhood of St Laurence
Employment Focus
Education Centre Gippsland
Djerriwarrh
Youth Projects
Job futures

Prison and Community Employment Consultants are employed by member organisations and are located at each of the Corrections Sites listed above.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this response to the discussion paper do not reflect the views either of the Department of Justice or the Job futures CSEPP Consortium

Questions for discussion:

Section 2. What impact might a criminal record have in the area of employment?

2(a) Do you know of any employers with a successful track record of employing people with criminal records?

Answer: Individual CSEPP employment consultants will be able to provide and oral response to this question at the meeting with the Commissioner on 8 March 2005, to be held at VACRO.

2(b) What practical difficulties face people with criminal records who are seeking employment?

Answer:

No current references or referees
Unable to obtain references from prison employment
No experience of searching for work
Outdated or no legitimate work skills history
Easy access for individuals to do police checks via private providers on the internet without the consent of ex-prisoner / offender / client.
High unemployment causes client group to be easily over looked /ignored in a competitive employment market
Some clients can have no experience of committing to and attending a workplace on a daily basis
Re-integration in the community is showing to take a minimum of three (3) months after release, thus commitment to job searching, whilst high in prison, is low on return to the community.

2(c) How do people with criminal records address the difficulties they encounter in seeking employment?

Answer: One client's response to this question:

"Four different jobs applies for
Filled in application forms at Safeway and others
Declared CRN as there was a specific question
Never heard anything
No unsuccessful letter even
It was like they didn't get it (the application from)
Felt like I didn't want to work
Frustrated when you can't get a job
Keep trying to get a job, no response
I'm not going to get a job - might as well "get on - get stoned"."

2(d) What special difficulties face juveniles with criminal records.

Answer: The respondents have limited contact with juveniles and are therefore unable to comment.

2(e) What special difficulties face indigenous people with criminal records?

Answer: Most of my clients living in country areas who are indigenous experience:

Less employment opportunities,
Smaller communities
Local communities are familiar with client criminal history via reporting in local media
No streamlining of Indigenous Employment Programs in Victoria. For example information is not available on where the programs are located or on how clients can access them on release.
There is no smooth transition of indigenous prison programs to employment or training

2(f) Why might employers be reluctant to employ someone with a criminal record?

Answer: Employers might be reluctant to employ someone with a criminal record because:

They fear criminal activity / theft in their workplace
They fear loss of business / productivity in the workplace
They judge all clients with CRNs as the same. They are unable to individualise criminal behaviour or activities

2(g) What strategies might address ongoing stereotyping of people with criminal records in the workplace?

Answer: Strategies to address stereotyping of people with CRNs in the workplace could include:

Education forums for employers
Expansion of CSEPP Employment Expo to all Victorian prisons
Liaison with union bodies covering industries to assist with workplace strategies
Liaison with peak employer bodies to assist with workplace strategies

Section 3: what do discrimination laws say about taking a person's criminal record into account in employment?

3(a) Are there currently sufficient legal protections against discrimination in employment on the basis of criminal record?

3(d) What difficulties might face a person with a criminal record who wishes to use the current anti-discrimination legislation? What can be done to overcome these difficulties?

Fear of reprisal (victimisation)
Fear that by lodging a complaint they will be given a bad name in the industry in which they work and they will continue to have difficulty in obtaining work
Fear that by already having a CRN they will not be believed
Lack of confidence in the anti-discrimination system and the conciliation process
Even though the legislation allows for the "balance of probabilities", it will be the word of the complainant against the respondent and the complaint may be too difficult to prove
Limited knowledge of the legal processes and lack of access to legal or union representation. For example complainants who have been out of the work force are unlikely to belong to a union and will not have the resources to engage legal representation.
Over riding all of this is that the current legislation available to Victorian complainants does not include "unlawful activity" provisions.
Resistance by respondents to accept the legitimacy of the legislation and the perceived reversal of the rule "innocent until proven guilty".

What can be done to overcome these difficulties?

Education of employers and employees
Inclusion of legal remedies
Strengthening of victimisation remedies

Section 4: What does a "criminal record" include?

4(a) Do employers and employees understand the categories of information that might be included or excluded on a criminal record check provided by police?

Answer: Not aware of all the categories until reading this paper, so doubt that employers or employees are, unless the industry in which they are involved requires "criminal record" checks.

4(b) When requesting a criminal record check, do employers seek information about specific offences or do they request a general view?

Answer: The normal request is for a general view. If it is for a specific industry such as working with children then the request is likely to be both general and specific.

4(c) What difficulties, if any, have employers and employees encountered in obtaining criminal record checks?

Answer: No experience with this question

4(d) Have there been instances where a criminal record check has been completed without an individual's consent?

Answer: A client was dismissed after the employer accessed information from a private internet site, without the employee's consent.

Section 5: When might a criminal record be relevant to employment?

5(a) In what occupations might a criminal record be a relevant ground for excluding a person from employment, licensing or registration? For these specific occupations what criminal record would be relevant and why?