Business Sued for Dismissing Convicted Sex Offender

• Key point. State laws encouraging employers to hire convicted felons do not prevent employers from dismissing or refusing to hire such persons, especially when their criminal background makes them a threat to others.

A Washington state court ruled that a state law declaring it to be the policy of the state to promote the rehabilitation of felons and assist them in securing employment did not prohibit a private employer from dismissing an employee on the basis of his criminal conviction. An employee of a business corporation was charged with three counts of felony child molestation. The employee was convicted of a lesser offense, and sentenced to twelve months in prison, with ten months suspended, one month converted to 240 hours of community service, and one month of actual jail time to be served on weekends. When the employer found out about the conviction, it dismissed the employee. ...