Do hiring policies usually forbid hiring someone who's committed a felony, ever, or just within the past x number of years?

The policies vary so much from place to place, it is impossible to say. Each company and organization is free to make their own policy.

My understanding from people I know responsible for hiring is that having a felony on your record is a big negative and often a strong reason for any potential employer to hire an alternative candidate if one is available. That said, they also claim that the nature of the offense matters. Violence and theft (especially workplace theft, naturally) will almost always kill someone’s chances at employment in most places, but something like vandalism will often be overlooked if it’s far enough in the past. It is also illegal in some places to have blanket ban on hiring felons, and there have been EOE suits brought to court over the matter.

My sources are a mix of retail store managers and university human resources officers.

I understand in education, no felonies are allowed, ever. Parents would flip if a felon was in the classroom being role models for kids.

I knew one business owner who made it a point to include ex-convicts among his hires for warehouse work. He wanted to give them a second chance. I’d say private businesses might have a very wide range of policies.

I know all the applications when referring to the question they want and explaination of what that felony was about. I do think either way you need to disclose any felony regardless of time because that remains on your record for life and can effect a potential job from hiring you. You can even be fired if you don’t disclose this information because background checks are a fact of life now adays whether or not they happen before you are hired or during your employment. I know haven worked for a bank they continue these background checks well after the person is hired and if something happens during employment it can be terms for termination. We had to be bonded up to a certain dollar amount and if you had any blips on your record you wouldn’t be able to be bonded.

Your best bet is to keep your nose clean and stay in good standing with the law if you want to get a good job. Otherwise you just screwed choice of careers and be prepared to make very little.

Now besides being convicted of a felony beware that a potential employer now adays often does credit checks and in the financial type jobs you are not going to get them if you have bad credit or debt because its too much of a risk that you will steal from the employer. But I guess that would fall under another question.

Businesses are afraid to hire convicted felons. The other employees are the problem. No one wants to work with a convicted felon and business owners are afraid of a walkout, if this is discoverd.

So, you can see that there is a lot more involved in this situation, rather than just a rule or regulation, concerning convicted felons.

Even a convicted felony check writer is included. This is like a shoplifter, but on a much larger scale. If they steal once, they will steal again. No businessman wants his assets walking out his front door.

In order to comply with fair employment laws they just have to apply their policy consistently. A company can set their policy however they want.

Just to be clear: I’m not a felon, nor am I looking to be one. I just saw it and it piqued my curiosity.

I’m so relieved, @Aethelflaed, that it neither peeked nor peaked your curiosity. When people write the expression in those altered (phonetic) forms, I always have to wonder what in the world they think it means.