PBS高端访谈:犯罪记录会使寻找工作的人陷入贫穷的窘境?

 　　STEPHEN FEE: Every afternoon, at his dining room table, 35 year old Ronald Lewis does his homework.

　　By day, he's a student — learning to fix heating and air conditioning systems, and he looks after his three kids. He also works the nightshift, running high-pressure boilers¹ at a chemical plant here in his hometown Philadelphia.

　　RONALD LEWIS: I'm a father. I'm a hard worker. I'm very ambitious.

　　STEPHEN FEE: He's also got a criminal record.

　　A decade ago, Lewis had two major run-ins with the law that he says have interfered² with his job prospects³ ever since.

　　In August 2004, he was picked up during a drug arrest alongside his brother. Lewis was carrying a 9 millimeter handgun. Days later he was nabbed for stealing a pocketbook from a department store.

　　So what was that like — and what happened at that stage after they arrested you?

　　RONALD LEWIS: It was life changing. But it wasn't a good feeling. It wasn't a good feeling because you felt like you disappointed your family and you disappointed your mother, which is the most important person in my life.

　　STEPHEN FEE: On the suggestion of his lawyer, Lewis took a deal. For both cases, he pled guilty to a total of three misdemeanors and was sentenced to five years probation⁴. No jail time.

　　At that time, were you worried at all about how this might impact your future?

　　RONALD LEWIS: No. Because the lawyer had told me, ‘It's only a misdemeanor. It's never gonna hurt you. Don't even worry about it.' So no. I really didn't think that much into it at that point.

　　STEPHEN FEE: A short time later, Lewis began looking for new work. He was overjoyed when he got a tentative job offer from a building company.

　　RONALD LEWIS: I worked there for about a month, was honest with them. Told them, you know, what was on my record. They still hired me. We're workin'. So I work there about a month. They called me in the office and said, ‘Your record came back. We gotta let you go.'

　　STEPHEN FEE: And that was it? Even though you had disclosed everything? You were never dishonest in the hiring process?

　　RONALD LEWIS: Never dishonest. Never. They looked so scared of me — it was a shame.

　　STEPHEN FEE: What do you mean?

　　RONALD LEWIS: When they — we gotta get you out of here. We've gotta get you off the premises⁵.

　　STEPHEN FEE: Lewis says that scenario⁶ played out over and over again — later on, he had two offers that were then revoked⁷. He had promising⁸ phonecalls with another company that went nowhere. He says the only explanation he received: the existence of crimes in his past. Four of those companies declined to discuss Lewis' case with us.

　　STEPHEN FEE: There are people who are going to watch this, and they're going to say, ‘You know what? You weren't a kid. You were 25. You were an adult. You knew what you were doing. And that this is a consequence — this is a consequence of your actions.'

　　RONALD LEWIS: If you show me one person that hasn't made a mistake, then I won't apply nowhere else.

　　STEPHEN FEE: Nine in ten companies in the US conduct background checks, and with rap sheets widely available online, advocates say people with criminal backgrounds — sometimes just an arrest record, no conviction — are being blocked from employment. They say it's driving a growing number of people into poverty. And that Ronald Lewis' case is hardly unique.

　　SHARON DIETRICH, COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES OF PHILADELPHIA: It's very common. We see clients come in with variations of his story on a daily basis.

　　STEPHEN FEE: Sharon Dietrich is now Ronald Lewis' lawyer — she didn't represent him in the original criminal cases. She's also the litigation director at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia. She's been there for nearly thirty years.

　　SHARON DIETRICH, COMMUNITY LEGAL SERVICES OF PHILADELPHIA: We serve the low-income community of Philadelphia, basically unemployed⁹ and low-wage workers in Philadelphia. And it's the single most common reason people come to us for help is because they have a criminal record that has been keeping them from getting a job.

　　STEPHEN FEE: Last year, the Wall Street Journal using data from the University of South Carolina reported that Americans with a criminal conviction by age 23 have higher unemployment rates, make less money, and are twice as likely to end up in poverty as their peers.

　　REBECCA VALLAS, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: The reality is that with the rise of technology and really with the proliferation of background checks in this nation in really every walk of life from employment to housing, a criminal record now carries often lifelong barriers to basic building blocks of economic security.

　　STEPHEN FEE: Rebecca Vallas is a lawyer and poverty expert at the left-leaning Center for American Progress in Washington. She and Sharon Dietrich, Ronald Lewis' lawyer, published a report last year linking poverty and criminal backgrounds, especially among black men.

　　REBECCA VALLAS, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: The fact is that between 70 million and 100 million Americans, and that's nearly one in three of us, has some type of criminal record. And so it's really an incredibly pervasive¹⁰ problem that impacts whole segments of our community. But it — this issue also really disproportionately impacts communities of color.

　　STEPHEN FEE: Employers say they aren't just shutting out everyone with a criminal past — they're being careful and complying with guidelines from the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission meant to give people second chances.

　　That's according to Beth Milito at the National Federation¹¹ of Independent Businesses, which represents 350 thousand small businesses.

　　A cynical¹² part of me says, ‘Hey, if I sat down and, boy, it looks like someone's got a criminal record and then I've got another candidate who doesn't, I'm gonna go with the guy who doesn't have the criminal record,' right?

　　BETH MILITO, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES: Maybe, maybe not. I think it depends on the nature of the job. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission issued new guidance in April of 2012. And it reiterates¹³ that where at all possible it's good for a business to consider three factors– the nature of the crime, the time that's elapsed since the crime and the nature of the job. And when at all possible to make an individualized assessment¹⁴. And I think many employers will do that.

　　STEPHEN FEE: Dozens of cities — including Philadelphia — along with thirteen states have passed so-called ban the box measures that basically ban that little check box on job applications asking about your criminal history.

　　But Vallas and Dietrich's report for the Center for American Progress wants to go a step further — and seal low-level, nonviolent criminal offenses¹⁵ that took place more than ten years ago.

　　According to Rebecca Vallas, the data show that after a decade, nonviolent offenders¹⁷ are no more likely to commit a crime than anyone else — so their records shouldn't be part of the hiring process at all.

　　REBECCA VALLAS, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: We really have policies in place that treat a person as a criminal long– after they really pose any significant risk of ever re-offending. And it really doesn't make much sense to be shutting someone out of opportunities to access — a job for instance — because of misconceptions about who that person might be and the risk that they might pose to public safety.

　　STEPHEN FEE: But Beth Milito at the National Federation of Independent Businesses says employers face major risks, and even potential negligent¹⁸ hiring lawsuits¹⁹, if a past offender¹⁶ commits a crime on the job. And for small business owners especially, their reputations could be on the line.

　　BETH MILITO, NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESSES: Hiring decisions are challenging. And they need this information. They can't turn a blind eye. Too much is at risk.They can't turn a blind eye to criminal history. It'd be foolish to. You know, there's people, property at stake.

　　STEPHEN FEE: Someone might be watching this and they say, ‘You know what? I wouldn't trust you at my business.' How do you defend yourself to that charge?”

　　RONALD LEWIS: What I say to them is it was 2004, and I'm pretty sure if you made a mistake in 2004, you don't know what your mistake was. But mine is documented. So you know what my mistake is. And look at the positive things I've done since 2004. So if you're gonna hang your hat on just 2004, then you probably aren't the person I wanna work for anyway.

　　STEPHEN FEE: Do you think an employer doesn't have the right to know what happened in your past?

　　RONALD LEWIS: Employers should know — should know who they're hiring. It's fair. You– you should know. But you should also remember that these are lives we're — these are people's lives we're talking about. It's like if almost double jeopardy²⁰. Just look at it like this.

　　I serve my — I did my probation. No violations²¹. Model citizen. I go to school and try to better myself, and I'm — it's like every time I apply for a job, I feel like I'm committing a crime all over again.

　　STEPHEN FEE: Lewis has submitted two pardon applications to the state to clear his record — and while both have been rejected, he plans on re-submitting in the near future.

1 boilers   

锅炉，烧水器，水壶( boiler的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Even then the boilers often burst or came apart at the seams. 甚至那时的锅炉也经常从焊接处爆炸或裂开。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• The clean coal is sent to a crusher and the boilers. 干净的煤送入破碎机和锅炉。

2 interfered   

v.干预( interfere的过去式和过去分词 )；调停；妨碍；干涉

参考例句：

• Complete absorption in sports interfered with his studies. 专注于运动妨碍了他的学业。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• I am not going to be interfered with. 我不想别人干扰我的事情。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

4 probation   

n.缓刑(期)，(以观后效的)察看；试用(期)

参考例句：

• The judge did not jail the young man,but put him on probation for a year.法官没有把那个年轻人关进监狱，而且将他缓刑察看一年。
• His salary was raised by 800 yuan after his probation.试用期满以后，他的工资增加了800元。

5 premises   

n.建筑物，房屋

参考例句：

• According to the rules,no alcohol can be consumed on the premises.按照规定，场内不准饮酒。
• All repairs are done on the premises and not put out.全部修缮都在家里进行，不用送到外面去做。

6 scenario   

n.剧本，脚本；概要

参考例句：

• But the birth scenario is not completely accurate.然而分娩脚本并非完全准确的。
• This is a totally different scenario.这是完全不同的剧本。

7 revoked   

adj.[法]取消的v.撤销，取消，废除( revoke的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• It may be revoked if the check is later dishonoured. 以后如支票被拒绝支付，结算可以撤销。 来自辞典例句
• A will is revoked expressly. 遗嘱可以通过明示推翻。 来自辞典例句

8 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

9 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

10 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

11 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

12 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

13 reiterates   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The Chinese government reiterates that the question of Taiwan is China's internal affair. 中国政府重申，台湾问题是中国的内政。 来自汉英非文学 - 汉英文件
• Wang Jianzhou reiterates a fact and a viewpoint in Davos. 王建宙在达沃斯重申一个事实和一个观点。

14 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

15 offenses   

n.进攻( offense的名词复数 )；（球队的）前锋；进攻方法；攻势

参考例句：

• It's wrong of you to take the child to task for such trifling offenses. 因这类小毛病责备那孩子是你的不对。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Thus, Congress cannot remove an executive official except for impeachable offenses. 因此，除非有可弹劾的行为，否则国会不能罢免行政官员。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

16 offender   

n.冒犯者，违反者，犯罪者

参考例句：

• They all sued out a pardon for an offender.他们请求法院赦免一名罪犯。
• The authorities often know that sex offenders will attack again when they are released.当局一般都知道性犯罪者在获释后往往会再次犯案。

17 offenders   

n.冒犯者( offender的名词复数 )；犯规者；罪犯；妨害…的人（或事物）

参考例句：

• Long prison sentences can be a very effective deterrent for offenders. 判处长期徒刑可对违法者起到强有力的威慑作用。
• Purposeful work is an important part of the regime for young offenders. 使从事有意义的劳动是管理少年犯的重要方法。

18 negligent   

adj.疏忽的；玩忽的；粗心大意的

参考例句：

• The committee heard that he had been negligent in his duty.委员会听说他玩忽职守。
• If the government is proved negligent,compensation will be payable.如果证明是政府的疏忽，就应支付赔偿。

19 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

20 jeopardy   

n.危险；危难

参考例句：

• His foolish behaviour may put his whole future in jeopardy.他愚蠢的行为可能毁了他一生的前程。
• It is precisely at this juncture that the boss finds himself in double jeopardy.恰恰在这个关键时刻，上司发现自己处于进退两难的境地。

21 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。