"Race, Criminal Records and Employment"
Esta R. Bigler, director of the Labor and Employment Law Program at ILR, hopes The Richard Netter Conference on "Race, Criminal Records and Employment: Legal Practice and Social Science Research" is the beginning of a broader dialogue on research, public policy and advocacy surrounding the issues.
Held earlier this month at ILR's conference center in Manhattan, the event drew lawyers from public advocacy groups and private law firms, social scientists, scholars and community activists.
"This conference presented all sides, with advocates for those with criminal records hearing the concerns of management attorneys and both learning how unions deal with the issue," Bigler said.
"The social scientists learned how their work is being interpreted and used and the attorneys learned firsthand the latest findings of social scientists, "she said.
As the national unemployment rate has risen through the year, the role of criminal records in hiring decisions has increasingly critical consequences for people seeking employment, she said.
"One of the emerging legal issues confronted by renowned employment experts and community activists alike was how criminal convictions can have life-long consequences resulting in workplace discrimination," Bigler said in an interview this week.
At the conference, lawyer Jim Harmon discussed the case of decorated war veteran Osvaldo Hernandez, who served in Afghanistan and who wants to become a New York City police officer.
His felony conviction has been an obstacle, Harmon said. Hernandez is being deployed again, this time to Iraq.
Deputy Undersecretary for Military Personnel Policy Bill Carr spoke at the conference on misconduct waiver trends and data regarding convicted felons in the military enlistment process.
The ILR conference was named in honor of Richard Netter, a 1939 graduate of Cornell's Arts and Sciences College and a 1941 graduate of Cornell Law School. Netter, a long-time advocate for human rights and civil rights issues, funded the conference. He died earlier this year.
The conference was organized by Bigler; Pamela Tolbert, chair of ILR's Department of Organizational Behavior and Adam Klein ILR '87, a partner In the law firm of Outten and Golden.
Employment law specialist Marlen Bodden of the Legal Aid Society attended the conference and said, "As a practicing attorney, I found the conference extremely helpful. I learned about the latest statistics and ground-breaking research studies on discrimination."
Conference speakers and their presentations are available online at http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/law/events/100909_RaceCriminalRecords.html.