Pubdate: Sat, 19 May 2012
Source: Williston Herald (ND)
Copyright: 2012 Williston Herald
Contact:  http://www.willistonherald.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/3646
Authors: Jacob Brooks and Kevin Brant

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT: THOSE WITH A CRIMINAL HISTORY HAVE A HARDER TIME
FINDING EMPLOYMENT IN WILLISTON AREA

Finding a job in the Williston area isn't as easy as it might seem on
CNN or YouTube, especially if you have a criminal record.

Just ask 49-year-old Epifanio Rodriguez Jr., an out-of-work truck
driver from Philadelphia who arrived in Williston with his car and a
few hundred dollars on April 22.

Rodriguez has a commercial driving liscense and more than 10 years of
experience in driving dump trucks and tractor-trailers -- which
experts say is currently the most in-demand job of the oil patch.

But despite all that, and applying to more than 10 different
companies, Rodriguez still hasn't had a job offer after nearly a month.

Rodriguez said the reason why is clear: His criminal
past.

"I want to be upfront about it," he said. "I don't want to try and
hide it."

During his 20s, Rodriguez was involved in Philidelphia's drug scene.
He was found guilty of multiple drug charges and an aggravated
assault, which he said involved a drug dealer that was bothering his
family.

He paid for his crimes -- seven years in prison. He said he has been
on the straight and narrow ever since being released from jail in
2000, when he pursued a career in truck driving.

It was all going well until last September, when Rodriguez was laid
off from his job as a dump truck driver due to Philadelphia's
construction industry drying up. He's given up trying to find a job
back home.

"There's no way of doing that," he said. "There is no employers.
There's no work."

Like thousands of other job-seekers, Rodriguez found out about the
plethora of jobs available in the Williston area on national news
programs and surfing the Internet. He said sources like CNN and
YouTube make it sound like anyone can get a job within days.

Earlier this year, after months of unemployment and growing bills,
Rodriguez -- who moved from Puerto Rico when he was 10 years old --
decided to drive to Williston.

"I said I got to take this chance," Rodriguez said. "I'm three, maybe
four, months behind on rent right now."

He said he is also trying to put a daughter through college, but
employers in the area, as desperate as they might be for employees,
are not giving ex-convicts much of a chance.

Guidelines for employment background checks are governed by the
Federal Trade Commission Fair Credit Reporting Act.

If a potential employee approves to submit a background check, the
employers can look up driving records, credit records, education
records, court records, drug test records, incarceration records, sex
offenders lists and others. However, a background check can not
include: Bankruptcies after 10 years, civil suits, and records of
arrest, from date of entry, after seven years, according to
privacyrights.org, which follows federal privacy laws closely.

Typically, employers ask if potential candidates have "ever" been
arrested, but digging up criminal history beyond seven years can be
harder to come by.

Unless the candidate is honest and forthcoming with the
information.

Such is the case with Rodriguez.

He said there are many others in the Williston area just like him;
people having a hard time finding employment because of a criminal
past, even if it happened 20 years ago.

He said he is reformed and doesn't want to return to the drug
lifestyle, even though it could "pay my rent in two weeks" if he did
so.

He said he'd rather find a good truck-driving job, and live life
honestly.

"There are people trying to find redemption," Rodriguez said. "Trying
to put their kids through college and find a better life."
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MAP posted-by: Matt