Labor & Employment Law

School District Can Refuse To Hire Ex-Felons

School District Can Refuse To Hire Ex-Felons
Source: Adjunct Law Prof Blog; http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/adjunctprofs/

Reproduced with permission. Copyright © 2008, Mitchell H. Rubinstein, Esq., Adjunct Professor of Law, St. Johns Law School and New York Law School, All rights reserved.

Crook v. El Paso Independent School Dist., __F.3d__ (5th Cir. May 8, 2008) is an important case. The upheld the school districts decision to refuse to higher a social studies teacher because of his 13 felony convictions. The plaintiff was also a lawyer who had his license to practice suspended. Significantly, plaintiff also worked as a substitute in the District for several years without incident.

The court easily rejected plaintiffs claim that convicted felons were a protected class under Title VII. The court also rejected plaintiffs 1983 claim alleging due process violations by having a policy barring employment of convicted felons. As the court reasoned:

The district court also did not err in its application of rational basis scrutiny. The court concluded that because teachers are in close proximity to school children on a daily basis, and are charged with the responsibility of representing to their students an example of good moral character, the school board?s policy reflects the legitimate interest of protecting children from both physical harm and corrupt influences. As to whether this policy promotes that purpose, the court concluded that it was reasonable for the school district to believe that barring felons from permanent teaching positions would achieve this .. . .

It should be noted that the result might be different in some states. In New York, for example, the Corrections Law has anti-discrimination provisions that provide limited-very limited protections to ex-felons.

Mitchell H. Rubinstein

Full post as published by New York Public Personnel Law on June 02, 2008 (boomark / email).