Felons barred from constructing Apple’s campus

[phantom power]

Dick move, Apple.

Apple is known for being secretive and picky about who works on its popular devices, but now, union officials say, that thinking also applies to the construction workers pouring the concrete for the tech giant’s new offices.

Several construction workers who were hired to build the exterior of Apple’s new campus in Cupertino were ordered to leave the site in January due to prior felony convictions, several union officials and workers told The Chronicle. The ban is unusual for construction work, a field in which employers typically do not perform criminal background checks.

“Apple is always nervous about preserving its proprietary information, and yet I don’t know how this would affect that concern,” said Michael Theriault, president of Iron Workers Local Union 377. “Our folks put the wire in the reinforcing bar (of the building). It makes no sense to me.”

For work on the Apple site, anyone with a felony conviction or facing felony charges “does not meet owner standards,” according to documents from construction companies acquired by The Chronicle.

http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Felons-barred-from-constructing-Apple-s-campus-6178429.php

[Xipe Totec]

1. If you bar people with felony convictions from earning an honest living, what's left? nt

[treestar]

7. Exactly

That's my argument about voting too. Let people out of jail and still exclude them, and you have a recipe for recidivism.

[Egnever]

2. Fuck apple

I am not sure I could despise a company any more. Robbing people isn't enough for this shitty company. Steve Jobs was a dick and his company carries that tradition forward proudly.

[stone space]

3. I was convicted of a felony once. Sentenced to 3 years.

It was a Bench Trial, and the conviction was overturned in a Jury Trial and replaced with a Misdemeanor.

Not sure if Apple would have me or not.

[tridim]

6. Thank Jobs it's no big deal. Whew, that was a close one!

Apple can do no wrong. Apple can do no wrong. Apple can do no wrong.

Ever.

[Cal Carpenter]

9. “does not meet owner standards,”

It seems pretty clear to me, even from the excerpt above.

[procon]

10. From the linked article:

"Apple’s prohibition against employment of former felons or those with a pending felony charge..."

Apple may not employ them directly, but it looks like this is a contract condition that obligates the construction companies to comply with Apple's policy:
"For work on the Apple site, anyone with a felony conviction or facing felony charges “does not meet owner standards,” according to documents from construction companies acquired by The Chronicle."

[LuvNewcastle]

12. So they bar people who haven't

even been convicted? The government charges them and they're automatically disqualified? If that isn't illegal, it should be. Fuck that company.

[Jim Lane]

18. Pending unresolved charges is an in-between area

You can react with outrage to this case. Let some NFL player be charged with domestic violence, though, or a police officer be charged with misconduct in the death of an unarmed black man, and DU will be filled with calls for him to be suspended or even fired, without waiting for the formality of a conviction.

Should a day care center be allowed to refuse to hire someone who's been convicted of child molestation? Obviously. What about someone who's been indicted for child molestation but hasn't yet been tried? If I were running the center, I'd reject that applicant, too.

Of course, that's a far cry from saying that no one is fit to do ironwork at an Apple building if he or she has been accused of growing pot at home.

[procon]

5. Given the magnitude of errors in our unjust penal system,

a decision like this is unnecessarily cruel and punitive. Like states who deny voting rights to ex cons, the only purpose for denying them work is to single out and continue to punish people who have already paid the high price of losing their freedom as a consequence of their crimes and served their so-called 'debt to society'.

[Brickbat]

8. Way to take a stand, Apple.

[BrotherIvan]

11. Why isn't Apple a felon because of tax evasion?

Oh yeah, I forgot, too big to pay. (And I use Apple products because Microsoft blows.)

[Nye Bevan]

17. My guess would be that they have broken no laws (nt)

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. sad. give ex cons a chance

[tabasco]

14. Growing pot plants in your closet

A felony.

[procon]

19. Check your source.

It appears to just be someone's personal website offering nothing but a C&P list without named sources, citations or other verifiable links.

In comparison, the well respected San Francisco Chronicle says they have acquired the documents from the construction companies. I find no objective reason to disbelieve a news article from one of the largest and most prominent newspapers in the west with their slew a pulitzer awards.

[procon]

21. Yes, the Chronicle sited a named source.

Yes, the very same C&P alphabetical list does appear on many similar small websites, also without any source. Was that your point?

[onehandle]

22. And goodbye... nt