Fear over reason, every time...?

Let's say that an employer kept in check her bias against people with criminal history and purposefully considered the 3-N's to make a reasonable decision whether to hire an applicant with an extensive criminal history. After careful consideration, the employer finds that, although a particular need justifies background check (say, because the position would require interaction with young children), the applicant's criminal history lacks the nexus to warrant denial of his employment.

For 15 years, the employee with a criminal history does a good job, obeys all laws, and is fully "rehabilitated" by any definition of that word. Not even a traffic ticket, as they say. One could even say that the employer's careful consideration 15 years ago has been proven right by the passage of time.

But what if someone else finds that the employee has a criminal history? The fifteen years of no recidivism is thrown out the window, and there is a public outcry of "We were so lucky that the criminal didn't hurt our children!"

It happened earlier this year in Los Angeles, when the LA Times' fear-mongering articles resulted in the massive firing of people with criminal records from the county hospital for no other reason than that they had decades-old convictions.

Today, St. Petersburg Times reports that a 60-year old man may lose his position on the board of a girls softball team because of the revelation that he had been convicted of crimes more than 15 years ago.

Les Miserables anyone?