George,

Because the category of convicted felons so imperfectly corresponds to the category of people who were actually guilty of felonies, because the category of felonies only slightly more perfectly corresponds to harmful behaviors, and because -- popular myths notwithstanding -- people and their circumstances change, I would think that any responsible employer would need something more than a criminal history to exclude bad employees and avoid excluding good ones.

David Swanson (electronic mail, June 10, 2001).