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Should we ban everyone who has a criminal history (violent or otherwise) from every job on the planet? If someone got in a bar fight and was convicted for assau

Should we ban everyone who has a criminal history (violent or otherwise) from every job on the planet? If someone got in a bar fight and was convicted for assault ("has a violent criminal history") twenty years ago should that preclude them from driving an Uber? "He/she has a criminal record" is too often the end of consideration for any position and it's really sad. Edit: Not saying that Uber shouldn't background check, they should. I only meant what I said, nothing more. I don't work for Uber.

thebiglebrewski 10y ago
Do you work for Uber? Aren't you perturbed that they lied about doing something even moreso than the philosophical argument for or against hiring ex-cons?
Loughla 10y ago
No we should not. But stating that you do background checks, and then definitely not doing them at all is the problem the op talked about.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
- Sacho 10y ago
  But we're still arguing the same point as parent - should finding a criminal record with a background check preclude someone from work? If not, then the mayor's experiment only proved that Uber's (possibly nonexistent) background checks did not consider the particular offenses egregious enough.
antihero 10y ago
Depends on the crime, if you've nicked something from a shop as a kid or sold a bit of blow, who gives a shit? If it's a violent or sexual crime, probably not great to employ someone in a job where they can drive drunk people to places.
- gambiting 10y ago
  If you got into a drunken brawl at a bar at the age of 18, you forever have a "violent offender" badge. Should that stop you from getting any job in the future? In this case - driving a cab?
  - st3v3r 10y ago
    Any job? No. But we're not talking about any job. We're talking about one, very specific type of job.
    - gambiting 10y ago
      Sure, but are you really saying that someone who was in a fight at the age of 18, can't be a cab driver at say age 40? It doesn't make any sense to me.
      - st3v3r 10y ago
        You'd have to take into account how long ago the conviction was, and what's happened since then. But at age 20? I would say probably not.
      - antihero 10y ago
        Should be case by case really. If they viciously attacked someone then no, if they just got into a punch-up then who cares, shit happens.
- Vraxx 10y ago
  Somebody posed this question elsewhere in this article's thread and I do think it's the most important question. Would the position that this violent/sexual offender is being considered for increase their chances of performing a violent/sexual crime as compared to their chance of committing a similar crime without that job. I think you were touching on that idea, but I feel it is important enough to clarify.
MichaelBurge 10y ago
Uber says "We perform background checks" because it reassures their customers. To implement your suggestion, it seems like people should either stop feeling scared when driving with convicted felons or Uber should get powerful enough(possibly by making consumers dependent on them) that they can ignore people's requests for non-felons. Men would probably take the first option if you lower the cost to ride with felons. I guess you could also lie to people about doing the checks, later say "Most people who rode with convicted felons didn't get violently murdered", and people would pull out their spreadsheets and conclude that the problem isn't worth worrying about. Then the problem would go away.
deleted 10y ago
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vkou 10y ago
I entirely agree with you on this count - however, I think that if the vocation in question consists of "Getting into an unmarked car with a stranger, in a state of fatigue/inebriation, in a city you aren't familiar with," we should have a different standard for background checks then we do for, say, a roofer.
st3v3r 10y ago
"Should we ban everyone who has a criminal history (violent or otherwise) from every job on the planet?" How on earth are you able to make the jump from Uber driver to every job on the planet?
ncr100 10y ago
Second chance within reason. Felons can be blocked from working in positions where they've proven themselves to do felonies, AFAIK.
zaroth 10y ago
I think the primary point is that if Uber is saying they are doing background checks, and claiming they are screening their drivers, then it's important that those checks are actually being done. I don't know if Uber is lying or incompetent, but this seems like a clear example where they failed to do what they promised. All the discussion around whether they should do background checks seems to me to be beside the point. Part of the recent court settlements was to rename the "Safe Driver" fee to a "booking fee" because the money wasn't actually being used to ensure you were getting a "safer driver".

thebiglebrewski 10y ago

Do you work for Uber? Aren't you perturbed that they lied about doing something even moreso than the philosophical argument for or against hiring ex-cons?

Loughla 10y ago

No we should not. But stating that you do background checks, and then definitely not doing them at all is the problem the op talked about.

deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
Sacho 10y ago
But we're still arguing the same point as parent - should finding a criminal record with a background check preclude someone from work? If not, then the mayor's experiment only proved that Uber's (possibly nonexistent) background checks did not consider the particular offenses egregious enough.

antihero 10y ago

Depends on the crime, if you've nicked something from a shop as a kid or sold a bit of blow, who gives a shit? If it's a violent or sexual crime, probably not great to employ someone in a job where they can drive drunk people to places.

gambiting 10y ago
If you got into a drunken brawl at a bar at the age of 18, you forever have a "violent offender" badge. Should that stop you from getting any job in the future? In this case - driving a cab?
- st3v3r 10y ago
  Any job? No. But we're not talking about any job. We're talking about one, very specific type of job.
  - gambiting 10y ago
    Sure, but are you really saying that someone who was in a fight at the age of 18, can't be a cab driver at say age 40? It doesn't make any sense to me.
    - st3v3r 10y ago
      You'd have to take into account how long ago the conviction was, and what's happened since then. But at age 20? I would say probably not.
    - antihero 10y ago
      Should be case by case really. If they viciously attacked someone then no, if they just got into a punch-up then who cares, shit happens.
Vraxx 10y ago
Somebody posed this question elsewhere in this article's thread and I do think it's the most important question. Would the position that this violent/sexual offender is being considered for increase their chances of performing a violent/sexual crime as compared to their chance of committing a similar crime without that job. I think you were touching on that idea, but I feel it is important enough to clarify.

MichaelBurge 10y ago

Uber says "We perform background checks" because it reassures their customers. To implement your suggestion, it seems like people should either stop feeling scared when driving with convicted felons or Uber should get powerful enough(possibly by making consumers dependent on them) that they can ignore people's requests for non-felons. Men would probably take the first option if you lower the cost to ride with felons. I guess you could also lie to people about doing the checks, later say "Most people who rode with convicted felons didn't get violently murdered", and people would pull out their spreadsheets and conclude that the problem isn't worth worrying about. Then the problem would go away.

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

vkou 10y ago

I entirely agree with you on this count - however, I think that if the vocation in question consists of "Getting into an unmarked car with a stranger, in a state of fatigue/inebriation, in a city you aren't familiar with," we should have a different standard for background checks then we do for, say, a roofer.

st3v3r 10y ago

"Should we ban everyone who has a criminal history (violent or otherwise) from every job on the planet?" How on earth are you able to make the jump from Uber driver to every job on the planet?

ncr100 10y ago

Second chance within reason. Felons can be blocked from working in positions where they've proven themselves to do felonies, AFAIK.

zaroth 10y ago

I think the primary point is that if Uber is saying they are doing background checks, and claiming they are screening their drivers, then it's important that those checks are actually being done. I don't know if Uber is lying or incompetent, but this seems like a clear example where they failed to do what they promised. All the discussion around whether they should do background checks seems to me to be beside the point. Part of the recent court settlements was to rename the "Safe Driver" fee to a "booking fee" because the money wasn't actually being used to ensure you were getting a "safer driver".