Steve Mangan, general manager of Indiana Memorial Union Dining Services, said he is not afraid of hiring convicted criminals and empowering them with a second chance. In fact, he has done just that on multiple occasions – both knowingly and unknowingly.\nMangan and the supervisors that fall under his jurisdiction do not conduct background checks on all new employees, only those that the University absolutely requires them to. According to IU’s policy, only specified hourly employees are required to have their credentials checked, which is a business practice that Bloomington Police Department Capt. Joe Qualters suggested might be unwise.\n“It’s a matter of erring on the side of caution,” Qualters said. “Businesses could get burned because they haven’t taken what seems like an easy step.”\nEven though most University sectors take that “step,” Dining Services in the Union sometimes leaves the door open for hiring potentially dangerous convicted criminals.
Risky business\nAlthough his decision might be considered inadvisable, Mangan isn’t breaking the law or violating University policy. His department continues to not conduct background checks on any of its potential hourly staff, except for positions where employees handle money, take inventory or serve in a supervisory role, he said. \nAccording to public records, Dining Services currently employs at least one convicted felon, but Mangan refused to comment on the total number of felons he employs.\n“Pretty much, the students get hired automatically if they are qualified for the positions they are applying for,” Mangan said.\nIMU’s Dining Services has a policy unlike most other departments, said Jeanette Perch, a payroll transaction associate in the IMU. She explained that other IMU departments order background checks on all of their employees and Dining Services remains the only one that does not.\n“It was due to the expense that they stopped doing the background checks on everybody,” Perch said. \nOver the past decade, the IMU has seen declining patronage and revenue, resulting in a spending crunch that has left it attempting to increase earnings. In 2005, the Union hired a planning and management firm, Brailsford & Dunlavey, to identify ways to rejuvenate the IMU.
Ignorance is bliss\nOf course, knowledge of an employee’s past is not cheap. Price packages for background checks include the IU Limited Check, which is for employees less than 22 years old and costs $20.50 per report, and the IU Standard Check, which is for employees 22 and older and costs $35.50 per report, according to the Indiana University Price List and Packages document from July 2004. These reports include a Criminal Felony and Misdemeanor check, a Social Security Number trace and a Sex Offender Registry check – precautions Mangan said he does not think are necessary for every employee. \nIn order to maintain a full staff, Dining Services has to employ between 200 and 250 people at one time, Mangan said. And with such high employee turnover rates, to implement background checks on all Dining Services employees could cost Mangan’s department thousands of dollars per semester. The Union’s food department currently has about $375,000 worth of “general expenses,” according to an IU account summary for 2007-08. \n“There is a very high turnover of people in food positions,” Mangan said. “Sometimes by the time we do a background check on them, they are already gone.”\nIf a report comes back “spotty” on those they do check, human resources further investigates it to see what the person did, said Rosanne Dye, business manager at the IMU.\n“If the felony committed is unusual, human resources will ask what personnel wants,” Dye said. “It depends on the type of job.”\nA number of misdoings, ranging in severity, can constitute a felony. These include anything from the most serious offenses like murder and rape, but can also include lesser crimes like the possession of narcotics. \nMangan said he is aware of the people they hire who have a history of crime. \n“With the background checks, things will turn up, and we’re aware of them,” Mangan said. “But sometimes we’ll still hire those people. It’s on a case-by-case basis.”\nHe said these people are counseled ahead of time and, like all employees, are watched carefully. \n \nThe boss’ responsibility\nDan Rives, IU associate vice president of human resources, said he believes managers should ask the person applying for a job about his or her background. \n“It’s imperative that managers consider an individual with any criminal background in making an employment decision,” Rives said. “Regardless of a background check, managers have to make decisions considering the candidate’s background.” \nRives would not elaborate further about the IMU’s Dining Services’ policies specifically. \nWhile applying, potential IMU employees are required to admit if they have ever committed a felony. Perch acknowledged applicants sometimes lie about their past on applications.\n“If (applicants) lie and say they haven’t, and it comes back that they have, then they don’t have a very good chance of getting a job here,” Perch said. \nSupervisors are “expected to make good decisions regarding an applicant’s background and potential duties and responsibilities to be assigned,” according to employment procedures from the University Human Resource Services Web site. \n“There is a lot of common sense that needs to be used in hiring,” Rives said. “Nothing negates the responsibility of a manager to ask good questions and make good decisions in hiring people.”\nQualters, the BPD captain, recommended businesses conduct background checks and imagine worst-case scenarios when hiring convicted criminals. \n“If you don’t do background checks, you should,” he said.
Community service\nThere is no law barring most convicted criminals from getting jobs, but some suggest it is unwise to hire them unknowingly. People like Qualters see them as a liability. \nStatistics show about 68 percent of released criminals were reconvicted within three years of their discharge, according to 1994 data from the U.S. Department of Justice Web site, which is the most recent provided. Qualters said most employers would not want to incur that responsibility.\n“There should be a recognition that there may be a high probability, or at least a possibility, that that person may re-offend,” Qualters said, referring to sex offenders specifically. \nPerhaps, however, that is what separates what Qualters calls a “business” and what Mangan calls a “public service.” By allowing able-bodied workers the right to employment instead of leaving them to burden the welfare system, Mangan said he is trying to help IU maintain a progressive role in the community. He is committed to providing criminals a second chance, regardless of statistical data or historic trends. \n“I prefer to work with problems that result from that than avoid them,” Mangan said. “My company is totally committed to that.”
