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The Exception as the Rule: Negligent Hiring Liability, Structured Uncertainty, and the Rise of Criminal Background Checks in the United States

Oct 28
1 min read

The human resources department of businesses have adopted criminal background checks as a tool for screening job applicants even though U.S. law does not require it. An employer can be punished if an employee commits harm while on the job and the hiring process didn’t show “reasonable care” toward the employee’s potential for harm. Because it’s unclear what “reasonable care” means, HR departments often turn to criminal background checks as a cheap and easy method for avoiding legal responsibility..


Pierce, M. W., Runyan, C. W., & Bangdiwala, S. I. (2014). The Use of Criminal History Information in College Admissions Decisions. Journal of School Violence, 13(4), 359–376. https://doi.org/10.1080/15388220.2013.870061

Captive Afterlives in the Age of Mass Conviction

Through the experience of one formerly incarcerated woman looking for work, this article explores how a feeling of captivity resonates not only with the imprisoned but also with the recently released.

 
 

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The Afterlives of Conviction Project is a research-based public education initiative exploring the human impact of criminal conviction.

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Original artwork by Ana Holschuh

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