Put yourself in Casey Anthony’s shoes.
I know it’s a bit distasteful, but pretend for a second you’re a 25-year-old female who’s been acquitted of murdering your child, yet serving jail time for four misdemeanor counts of lying to detectives.
Not to mention you’ve got felony check fraud convictions against you.
Your jail sentence ends a week after it began, it’s time to start your life over, and that means finding a job. But you haven’t worked since 2006.
Now factor in the ramifications of being notorious throughout the national media.
I had to wonder what Anthony will do now, and how employment discrimination laws might affect her situation.
(Quick note: Florida is not a “Ban the Box” state. Even if the Anthony name wasn’t infamous, a background check is still going to happen.)
Playing with this scenario, I asked our in-house corporate counsel, John Reid, about employment law; specifically, what will Anthony have to go through to seek employment?
Reid told me that while you can’t exclude someone solely on the basis of a criminal conviction, “it can be used as a factor in determining whether someone is qualified” for a job.
He told me that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stipulates that “an employer must have a business necessity to deny employment to an applicant with a criminal record.”
Keeping that in mind, Reid said employers have to consider:
- the gravity of the offense (murder is pretty grave, but remember, she wasn’t actually convicted of murder, or even manslaughter)
- the time that has passed since the conviction or completion of sentence (if I had $4,000 worth of fines to pay, I’d get my ass in gear on securing a job)
- the nature of the job held or sought.
Florida law says “employment contracts which do not specify a definite term of employment are terminable ‘at will.’”
Reid defined at-will for me:
“If employed, Ms. Anthony’s employer could terminate her for any reason, so long as the reason is not based upon Ms. Anthony’s status as a member of a protected class,” he said.
“Age, sex, race and religion top the list of protected classes, but what about criminal?” I asked.
This is a grey area, Reid replied.
“The EEOC enforces Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,” he said. “While criminal status is not a protected class under Title VII, excluding people from employment based solely on criminal status can have a disproportionate impact on members of protected classes. This is why the EEOC is so concerned with it.
“While an employer would not be able to preemptively Ms. Anthony employment, it’s likely that they would try to drum up a ‘business necessity’ to deny her a job. If this reason really is a ruse to conceal the real reason for termination, then Ms. Anthony would be able to attack the denial as being a ‘pretext.’”
An example of a pretext would be an employer saying, “We just don’t feel you’re a right fit for the company.”
If the company who doesn’t consider her a good fit is a daycare center, there’s no doubt in my mind they had a business necessity in mind.
Proving discrimination is hard, not to mention time-consuming. Because direct instances of discrimination are rare, he said, often, the only way it can be proved is through an aggregate – i.e., the company has a history of not hiring people with criminal backgrounds.
“It is heavily skewed in favor of employers,” Reid confirmed. “It’s an uphill battle, especially in a case with this much publicity.”
Just as I suspected.
I could be wrong, though. Anthony may not have to search for a job. Many are speculating that Anthony will be offered book and movie deals.
She may never have to work again. Problem solved.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
People like you, make CAnthony a celebrity. It wasn’t enough that you people trashed the whole family for 3 years, you want now more. Well, she is not guilty according to our system, like it or not, and you don’t deserve better treatment. I suspect that she is very bright and smart (unlike you) and she will not have a problem. I didn’t mind your stupid article really, but posting the picture like this, show what nut case YOU are. Shame, you call your self “journalist”.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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CAnothony is a celebrity because of the lies and issues surrounding the case. Any heat she gets from this situation, she brought onto herself. Media has merely reported and speculated. Free Speech is a beautiful thing but her plead the 5th makes me want to vomit. There’s a reason she didn’t take the stand in her own trial. That picture is one that crazy ass bitch posed for and is part of her ‘Bella Vita’ which by the way she looks very bright in. According to our system, they did not have enough evidence to further charge her with anything beyond lying and giving fraudulent statements to the police. She may be “innocent” by the courts but she is guilty of being a liar. As a mother I can tell you if my son or daughter where to – bless their souls – ever have an accident and drown, I would call 911! I wouldn’t grab tape, gasoline and my baby’s dead body and torch her, leave her to decompose while I party party party! It’s sickening. Give it time. The real story will come out. That is what is so wonderful about our system and the double jeopardy rule. Casey Anthony is a role model for many criminals out there – lie lie lie and don’t give any factual, important information – get a good lawyer and shut the fuck up and you too may just get away with murder! Our system is FLAWED. You suspect that Casey Anthony is very bright and smart – that says more about YOU than you could even imagine! I give this writer a thumbs up for asking what everyone is wondering: what kind of life is she going to have? Who the hell would hire her? I mean she was convicted of fraud – you want liars or that scandal working for you? Take it a step further and strip the celebrity away from the situation and they’re talking about criminals released into the workforce and facing discrimination.
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Whatever you say, flawed system or not, this is it, if you don’t find it great, you should move to another country, maybe Iran? The court spoke LOUD AND CLEAR and she is not guilty. Get on with your life, and be a good mother to your kids. Trashing someone else without evidence just to prove to yourself how great mom you are, doesn’t prove it. Read a book and learn about the law system in America, and if you don’t like it, move. Or learn to be a citizen.
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Through the course of events, it has been clearly demonstrated, she is a sociopath. As an employer, I HAVE A DUTY to my family, partners, employees, customers, insurance carriers, and fellow community members TO NEVER HIRE A SOCIOPATH.
Many people who have little to no character have attended universities, attained degrees, and some graduate degrees in every field. Those without character are always a liabilty. Its better to ignore their points of view. Gather to yourselves those with character. These are whom you trust.
Well-loved. Like or Dislike:
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Guys, trust me; many people will want CA to work for them. Thanks to this stupid person who post this article and of course that stupid moron Nancy Grace, CA is very famous. And in this world, thanks to you, people without “character” or whatever you call it are the ones who get the money. So, never hire anyone since you owe it to your family. But get over it, CA paid 3 years in prison and that was more than enough, now she is free to cash in for the stupid you guys said all this time. Very funny.
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Fools CaseyAnthony is the queen!!! get a life.
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I’d hire her but I doubt any company would actually want her unless its for a publicity stunt or something. I agree she won’t need to worry about finding a job. Her tell all book will sell millions.
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The EEOC’s position is as follows: a) a disproportionate number of people of minority background have criminal records and b) it is therefore those people who may have a claim for discrimination if they are denied a job based solely on a criminal conviction and if the criminal conviction is not reasonably related to the job functions or the safety of others at the job site. Having said that (sorry for the long sentence!), Casey Anthony does not appear to fall within that protected class. Assuming for the sake of argument that she is in a protected class, however, it then depends on the job she is seeking. False statements and obstructing an investigation may not have as much bearing on the ability to work on an assembly line as it would for someone who would be working as a records manager, bookkeeper or some other job where it might be felt that honesty is more integral to the job. At the state level, Florida does not appear to offer any additional guidance. I have researched and co-authored an article with colleague Donald Cayea, Esq. on how the federal courst address this issue. It will be appearing at the end of this month in EEO Insight. (eeoinsight.com). If you do not find it there at the end of the month, please let me know and as soon as I have it I will send you a copy.
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Thanks, Janette. We look forward to reading your article!
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