New rules on arrest records in employment

On April 25, the U.S. Equal Employee Opportunity Commission issued new guidelines on the use of arrest and conviction records in hiring. You can access the guidelines, and the EEOC’s Q-and-A, at www.eeoc.gov.

EEOC wants to give people who may have committed a youthful indiscretion (which of us hasn’t?) a better chance to get a job when the conviction should not disqualify the person from a particular job. It also seeks to mitigate the disparate impact of the criminal justice system on minorities.

A 2010 EEOC survey found 92 percent of employers reported using criminal background checks before some hiring;…