{"id":11690,"date":"2018-02-14T08:37:21","date_gmt":"2018-02-14T13:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/?p=11690"},"modified":"2018-02-14T15:29:40","modified_gmt":"2018-02-14T20:29:40","slug":"usa-today-eeoc-felon-hiring-rule-busted-texas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/14\/usa-today-eeoc-felon-hiring-rule-busted-texas\/","title":{"rendered":"USA TODAY: EEOC &#8220;Felon Hiring Rule&#8221; Busted in Texas"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"utility-bar-wrap\">\n<div class=\"utility-bar\">\n<div class=\"util-bar-primary-modules\">\n<div class=\"util-bar-module util-bar-module-share\">\n<div class=\"util-bar-btn util-bar-btn-facebook util-bar-btn-share\" data-uotrack=\"UtilityBarFacebookBtn\" data-module-section=\"share\" data-module-name=\"utility-bar-module-share\"><a href=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/jpb-quote-jpeg-from-usa-today-eeoc-piece-created-by-them-better-than-mine.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-11696\" src=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/jpb-quote-jpeg-from-usa-today-eeoc-piece-created-by-them-better-than-mine-800x800.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/jpb-quote-jpeg-from-usa-today-eeoc-piece-created-by-them-better-than-mine-800x800.jpg 800w, https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/jpb-quote-jpeg-from-usa-today-eeoc-piece-created-by-them-better-than-mine-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/jpb-quote-jpeg-from-usa-today-eeoc-piece-created-by-them-better-than-mine-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/jpb-quote-jpeg-from-usa-today-eeoc-piece-created-by-them-better-than-mine-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/jpb-quote-jpeg-from-usa-today-eeoc-piece-created-by-them-better-than-mine.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/\u201cEnforcement-guidance\u201d-is-one-of-the-favorite-tools-of-bureaucratic-dictators-entitling-them-to-punish-any-entity-that-refuses-to-kowtow-to-the-latest-politically-correct-mandates.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-11697\" src=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/\u201cEnforcement-guidance\u201d-is-one-of-the-favorite-tools-of-bureaucratic-dictators-entitling-them-to-punish-any-entity-that-refuses-to-kowtow-to-the-latest-politically-correct-mandates.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"555\" height=\"309\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/\u201cEnforcement-guidance\u201d-is-one-of-the-favorite-tools-of-bureaucratic-dictators-entitling-them-to-punish-any-entity-that-refuses-to-kowtow-to-the-latest-politically-correct-mandates.jpg 750w, https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/\u201cEnforcement-guidance\u201d-is-one-of-the-favorite-tools-of-bureaucratic-dictators-entitling-them-to-punish-any-entity-that-refuses-to-kowtow-to-the-latest-politically-correct-mandates-150x83.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 555px) 100vw, 555px\" \/><\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/A-2012-EEOC-dictate-effectively-made-it-a-federal-crime-to-refuse-to-hire-felons-ex-convicts.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-11698\" src=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/A-2012-EEOC-dictate-effectively-made-it-a-federal-crime-to-refuse-to-hire-felons-ex-convicts.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"568\" height=\"316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/A-2012-EEOC-dictate-effectively-made-it-a-federal-crime-to-refuse-to-hire-felons-ex-convicts.jpg 750w, https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/A-2012-EEOC-dictate-effectively-made-it-a-federal-crime-to-refuse-to-hire-felons-ex-convicts-150x83.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 568px) 100vw, 568px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"util-bar-module util-bar-module-comments\">\n<div class=\"util-bar-btn util-bar-btn-comments\" data-uotrack=\"UtilityBarCommentsBtn\" data-module-name=\"utility-bar-module-comments\">\u00a0\u00a0USA TODAY,\u00a0 February 14, 2018<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"module-position-QpPvyNipgHY\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket asset-nav-bar-module story-asset-nav-bar-module\"><\/section>\n<section id=\"module-position-QpPvyNiB244\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket story-headline-module story-story-headline-module\">\n<h1 class=\"asset-headline speakable-headline\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/2018\/02\/14\/eeoc-federal-guidance-ruling-gives-trump-opportunity-fix-obama-era-mistakes-james-bovard-column\/331130002\/\">EEOC Federal Guidance ruling gives Trump opportunity to fix Obama-era mistakes<\/a><\/h1>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"module-position-QpPvyNj4ld0\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket story-byline-module story-story-byline-module\">\n<div class=\"asset-metabar\"><span class=\"asset-metabar-author asset-metabar-item\">by James Bovard, Opinion Columnist<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"module-position-QpPvyNkRVLE\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket bounce-exchange-module story-bounce-exchange-module\"><\/section>\n<section id=\"module-position-QpPvyNlcUf0\" class=\"storytopbar-bucket google-survey-module story-google-survey-module\"><\/section>\n<div class=\"asset-double-wide double-wide p402_premium\" role=\"main\">\n<div id=\"module-position-QpPvyN2OXCI\" class=\"story-asset story-metadata-asset\">\n<div class=\"article-metadata-wrap\">\n<section id=\"module-position-QpPvyNpCGpw\" class=\"storymetadata-bucket expandable-photo-module story-expandable-photo-module\">\n<aside class=\"single-photo expandable-collapsed\">\n<div class=\"image-wrap\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"image-credit-wrap\"><span class=\"js-caption-wrapper\"><span class=\"credit\">One of the Obama administration\u2019s most aggressive social justice engineering schemes was busted earlier this month in federal court in Texas.\u00a0In 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission effectively made it\u00a0a federal crime for businesses to refuse to hire felons and ex-convicts.\u00a0Federal Judge Sam Cummings ruled on Feb.\u00a01, 2018\u00a0that\u00a0the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/employment-backgroundchecks\/judge-says-eeoc-cant-enforce-background-check-regs-against-texas-idUSL2N1PT02W\"> EEOC violated federal law<\/a> in concocting this new federal offense, providing the Trump administration a divine opportunity to rein in run-amok bureaucrats.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"inline-share-tools asset-inline-share-tools asset-inline-share-tools-top\">The EEOC\u2019s 2012 \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eeoc.gov\/laws\/guidance\/arrest_conviction.cfm\">Enforcement Guidance<\/a> on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions\u201d was 20,000 convoluted words intended to browbeat businesses to cease checking the records of\u00a0job applicants.\u00a0EEOC commissioner Constance Barker, who opposed the new rule, warned that \u201cthe new Guidance will&#8230;\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eeoc.gov\/eeoc\/meetings\/4-25-12\/transcript.cfm\">scare business owners<\/a> from ever conducting criminal background checks&#8230;\u00a0the Guidance tells them that they are taking a tremendous risk if they do.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">EEOC justified its \u201cEnforcement Guidance\u201d because\u00a0the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.eeoc.gov\/laws\/guidance\/arrest_conviction.cfm\"> imprisonment rate for black men<\/a> \u201cwas\u00a0nearly seven\u00a0times higher than white men and almost three\u00a0times higher than Hispanic\u00a0men.\u201d\u00a0John McWhorter, a black professor at Columbia University, observed, \u201cYoung black men<a href=\"http:\/\/ideas.time.com\/2013\/08\/22\/viewpoint-dont-ignore-race-in-christopher-lanes-murder\/\"> murder 14 times more<\/a> than young white men.\u201d\u00a0The EEOC used statistical disparities to justify effectively designating criminal offenders as a new \u201cprotected class\u201d under the Civil Rights Act of 1964.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong>More: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/2018\/02\/02\/trump-nunes-memo-russia-investigation-fbi-congress-bovard-column\/1088740001\/\">Nunes memo released: FBI objections lacked credibility given bureau&#8217;s shady past<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><span class=\"exclude-from-newsgate\"><strong>More: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/opinion\/2018\/02\/12\/dont-dismiss-trump-infrastructure-proposal-editorials-debates\/330174002\/\">Don&#8217;t dismiss infrastructure proposal<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The EEOC sporadically pushed this radical doctrine in earlier times but was harshly rebuffed.\u00a0In 1989, the EEOC sued a Florida trucking company for refusing to hire a Hispanic applicant with multiple arrests and a prison term for\u00a0larceny.<a href=\"https:\/\/www.leagle.com\/decision\/19891457723fsupp73411364\">\u00a0Federal judge Jose Gonzalez Jr. snarled<\/a>,\u00a0\u201cEEOC\u2019s position that minorities should be held to lower standards is an insult to millions of honest Hispanics. Obviously\u00a0a rule refusing honest employment to convicted applicants is going to have a disparate impact upon thieves.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"ad-position-73\" class=\"partner-placement partner-spike partner-placement-visible\" data-monetization-sizes=\"fluid,3,3\" data-monetization-id=\"native-article_link\">\n<div id=\"ad-slot-7103-usatoday-native-article_link-news-opinion-75\" class=\"ad-slot\" data-google-query-id=\"CJiFtZ69pdkCFY6VyAodaZAKdA\">\n<div id=\"google_ads_iframe_7103\/usatoday\/native-article_link\/news\/opinion_0__container__\">But the Obama administration rewrote the hiring rule book \u2014 part of its campaign to re-label felons and ex-convicts as\u00a0merely \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theamericanconservative.com\/dreher\/justice-involved-individuals-obama-education-department\/\">justice-involved individuals<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0Under EEOC guidelines, criminals are often entitled to more consideration than other job applicants.\u00a0Former EEOC General Counsel Donald Livingston warned that employers could be considered guilty of \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.eusccr.com\/EEOC_final_2013.pdf\">race discrimination<\/a> if they choose law abiding applicants over applicants with criminal convictions\u201d unless they conduct a comprehensive analysis of the ex-offender\u2019s recent life history.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/edworkforce.house.gov\/uploadedfiles\/heriot_testimony.pdf\">U.S. Civil Rights Commissioner Gail Heriot testified to Congress<\/a>:\u00a0\u201cThe EEOC&#8217;s pattern of enforcement on this issue has been marked\u00a0by something akin to religious fervor. It has targeted employers whose line of work is sensitive enough that the need for clean criminal records should be viewed as an obvious business necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"ad-position-68\" class=\"partner-outstream partner-placement-visible\">\n<div class=\"partner-video\">\u00a0The EEOC\u2019s enforcement has been as capricious as the process of creating the new rules.\u00a0The EEOC hounded the Freeman Companies, a Maryland-based convention and corporate events planner, <a href=\"https:\/\/pacificlegal.org\/victory-eeoc-v-freeman-strong-rebuke-eeoc\/\">demanding that\u00a0it pay compensation to rejected job applicants <\/a>who lied about their criminal records.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\">Federal Judge Roger Titus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tlnt.com\/federal-judge-channels-his-inner-kenny-rogers-to-rebuke-eeoc-yet-again\/\">characterized an EEOC report<\/a> on Freeman\u2019s hiring practices as\u00a0 \u201claughable,\u201d \u201cbased on unreliable data,\u201d\u00a0 \u201crife with analytical error,\u201d \u201ccompletely unreliable,\u201d \u201cfull of material flaws,\u201d \u201cdistorted,\u201d\u00a0 \u201cworthless\u201d and \u201can egregious example of scientific dishonesty\u201d and condemned the EEOC\u2019s attempt to \u201cmake a mockery of procedural standards.\u201d Titus complained that the EEOC demanded policies that would \u201ccondemn the use of common sense\u201d and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.legalnews.com\/detroit\/1412906\">awarded almost a million dollars<\/a> in attorneys\u2019 fees to Freeman.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">The biggest challenge to the new hiring regime came from the state of Texas, which launched a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.workplaceclassaction.com\/2013\/11\/the-background-backlash-continues-texas-sues-the-eeoc-over-its-criminal-background-guidance\/\">lawsuit in 2013<\/a> against the so-called\u00a0\u201cFelon-Hiring Rule\u201d\u00a0and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasattorneygeneral.gov\/news\/releases\/ag-ken-paxton-texas-prevails-over-the-obama-administrations-unlawful-felon\">claimed<\/a> a \u201csovereign\u00a0right to impose categorical bans on the hiring of criminals, and the EEOC has no authority to\u00a0say otherwise.\u201d\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.workplaceclassaction.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/214\/2014\/12\/blogpost12114-2.pdf\">Texas complained that<\/a>, under the new rules,\u00a0\u201ceven a preschool could\u00a0not categorically\u00a0refuse\u00a0to\u00a0hire\u00a0all\u00a0job\u00a0applicants\u00a0convicted\u00a0of\u00a0\u2018indecent exposure\u2019 in the last two years.\u201d\u00a0The<a href=\"http:\/\/www.ca5.uscourts.gov\/opinions%5Cpub%5C14\/14-10949-CV0.pdf\"> EEOC insisted<\/a> that\u00a0\u201cno legal consequences\u201d\u00a0flow from the Guidance.\u00a0But EEOC Guidance\u00a0is compulsory for every company that cannot afford\u00a0half a million dollars in legal fees fighting the agency in court.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">A federal appeals court scoffed at the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bna.com\/5th-cir-revives-n57982076255\/\"> feds\u2019 non-binding claim<\/a> in a 2016 ruling\u00a0that noted that the EEOC was applying the Guidance\u00a0to \u201cvirtually all public and private employers.\u201d The case was remanded to a district court, where Judge Cummings found that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasattorneygeneral.gov\/files\/epress\/117_ORDER_Motion_for_leave_to_file_Amici_Curiae_Brief_108_by_Beverly_Harrison_is_GRANTED.pdf?cachebuster:5\">EEOC\u00a0violated the Administrative Procedures Act <\/a>by failing to offer a\u00a0public notice-and-comment period before imposing the new rules.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eeoc.gov\/laws\/guidance\/arrest_conviction.cfm\">\u201cEnforcement guidance\u201d<\/a> is one of the favorite tools\u00a0of bureaucratic dictators, entitling them to punish any entity that refuses to kowtow to the latest politically correct mandates. The Trump administration has already rescinded Obama-era guidance\u00a0on\u00a0how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usnews.com\/news\/education-news\/articles\/2017-09-22\/trump-administration-rescinds-obama-era-campus-sexual-assault-guidance\">colleges investigate sexual assault claims<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailykos.com\/stories\/2017\/9\/15\/1698875\/-Republicans-seize-the-Trump-moment-plan-to-gut-the-Americans-with-Disabilities-Act\">Americans with Disabilities Act compliance<\/a>\u00a0and many <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/attorney-general-jeff-sessions-rescinds-25-guidance-documents\">other areas<\/a>.\u00a0Trump\u2019s nominee for\u00a0assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, Eric Dreiband, has\u00a0strongly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.motherjones.com\/politics\/2017\/11\/trump-pick-for-top-civil-rights-enforcer-has-made-a-career-of-fighting-discrimination-claims\/\">criticized the EEOC rule<\/a>, which is\u00a0part of the reason he is\u00a0vehemently <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2017\/jun\/30\/eric-dreiband-trump-choice-lead-doj-civil-rights\/\">opposed by liberal activists<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">EEOC\u2019s crackdowns on background checks and similar ban-the-box local and state regulations are spawning unexpected harm.\u00a0A 2016 Harvard Kennedy School analysis concluded that\u00a0background check restrictions<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hks.harvard.edu\/publications\/no-woman-no-crime-ban-box-employment-and-upskilling\"> adversely effect female job applicants<\/a>, who have much lower rate of criminal offenses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">University of Virginia economist <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/opinions\/ban-the-box-does-more-harm-than-good\/\">Jennifer Doleac\u00a0analyzed<\/a> the data and concluded,\u00a0\u201cblack and Hispanic men without college degrees are significantly less likely to be employed after &#8216;ban the box&#8217; than before.&#8221; Civil Rights Commissioner <a href=\"http:\/\/www.eusccr.com\/EEOC_final_2013.pdf\">Peter Kirsanow observed<\/a>: \u201cThe fact that more African-Americans are hired when employers utilize criminal background checks\u00a0indicates that in the absence of better information, employers use race as a proxy for criminal history.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\">President Barack Obama <a href=\"http:\/\/swampland.time.com\/2013\/08\/28\/in-commemorative-mlk-speech-president-obama-recalls-his-own-2008-dream\/\">declared in 2013<\/a>,\u00a0\u201cThe arc of the moral universe may bend towards justice, but it doesn\u2019t bend on its own.\u201d\u00a0But recent experience shows that permitting federal agencies to bend the law and the Constitution is no substitute for justice.\u00a0It is time for the Trump administration to toss the notion of criminals as a \u201cprotected class\u201d onto the junk heap of bureaucratic history.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p-text\"><em>James Bovard,\u00a0author of\u00a0Attention Deficit Democracy,\u00a0is\u00a0a member of<\/em> USA TODAY\u2019<em>s\u00a0Board of Contributors. Follow him on Twitter:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JimBovard\">@JimBovard<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Alternative illustration for article: <a href=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/eeoc-seal-with-leviathan.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-11693\" src=\"http:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/eeoc-seal-with-leviathan.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"400\" srcset=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/eeoc-seal-with-leviathan.jpg 600w, https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/eeoc-seal-with-leviathan-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0\u00a0USA TODAY,\u00a0 February 14, 2018 EEOC Federal Guidance ruling gives Trump opportunity to fix Obama-era mistakes by James Bovard, Opinion Columnist One of the Obama administration\u2019s most aggressive social justice engineering schemes was busted earlier this month in federal court in Texas.\u00a0In 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission effectively made it\u00a0a federal crime for businesses [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11696,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[309,109,1367,1371,1372,1368,1370,1373,1369,980],"class_list":["post-11690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-bureaucratic-tyranny","tag-eeoc","tag-enforcement-guidance","tag-eric-dreiband","tag-indecent-exposure","tag-john-mcwhorter","tag-peter-kirsanow","tag-roger-titus","tag-sam-cummings","tag-texas"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>USA TODAY: EEOC &quot;Felon Hiring Rule&quot; Busted in Texas - James Bovard<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/14\/usa-today-eeoc-felon-hiring-rule-busted-texas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"USA TODAY: EEOC &quot;Felon Hiring Rule&quot; Busted in Texas - James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0\u00a0USA TODAY,\u00a0 February 14, 2018 EEOC Federal Guidance ruling gives Trump opportunity to fix Obama-era mistakes by James Bovard, Opinion Columnist One of the Obama administration\u2019s most aggressive social justice engineering schemes was busted earlier this month in federal court in Texas.\u00a0In 2012, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission effectively made it\u00a0a federal crime for businesses [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/2018\/02\/14\/usa-today-eeoc-felon-hiring-rule-busted-texas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"James Bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/jim.bovard\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-02-14T13:37:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-02-14T20:29:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/jimbovard.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/jpb-quote-jpeg-from-usa-today-eeoc-piece-created-by-them-better-than-mine.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@jimbovard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/14\\\/usa-today-eeoc-felon-hiring-rule-busted-texas\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/2018\\\/02\\\/14\\\/usa-today-eeoc-felon-hiring-rule-busted-texas\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jim\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/jimbovard.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/79550830ad81c14be529a2c37469974f\"},\"headline\":\"USA TODAY: EEOC &#8220;Felon Hiring Rule&#8221; 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