Korea: ‘Squid Game 2’ sparks outrage over casting convicted sex offender

Source: jang.com.pk 11/3/24 The most awaited trailer of Netflix’s Squid Game 2 has unveiled on November 1, which featured some old and new characters, trying to navigate the chaotic and lethal game. Although, the trailer fueled exciting among fans, it also sparked outrage due to the inclusion of veteran actor Song Young-chang, who was convicted of underage prostitution in 2000. … Many major Korean broadcast channels banned him but Song continued to work in the entertainment industry, appearing in various K-Dramas and movies in supporting roles Read the full article  

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CA: Background Check Vendors Reckon With Increased Job Bias Scrutiny

Source: bloomberglaw.com 8/23/24 Third-party employee screening companies are finding themselves more in the litigation fray in California for blocking job seekers with criminal records thanks to a growing advocacy and legal movement that’s pushing to hold them accountable alongside employers. A group of background check companies—DISA Global Solutions Inc., the Health and Safety Council, and the North American Background Screening Consortium—and three oil refinery businesses are accused of using a rating system that screens out otherwise qualified candidates solely based on their previous convictions that have no adverse relationship with…

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CA: People With Criminal Records Should Not Have to Hire a Lawyer Just to Get a Job

Source: truthout.org 2/4/24 State laws are restricting people with convictions from working as nurses, counselors and janitors. Finding work can be difficult for anyone, but Fernando Herrera faces an extra challenge. California has banned him for life from his dream job as a firefighter because of two felonies he committed as a teenager. Herrera went to prison for assaults he committed at ages 14 and 15. But he took responsibility for his actions and turned his life around. He worked as an unpaid firefighter while in prison and found his…

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CA: California sues Ralphs supermarket, alleging it broke the law by asking job-seekers about their criminal records

Source: fortune.com 12/22/23 California sued the Ralphs supermarket chain on Thursday, alleging that it violated state law by asking job-seekers whether they had criminal records and illegally rejecting hundreds of applicants.   The California Civil Rights Department contends that Ralphs Grocery Co. “has ignored and continues to ignore” the Fair Chance Act “by screening out otherwise qualified applicants on the basis of criminal histories that do not have any adverse relationship with the duties of the job for which they were applying,” according to a departmental press statement. The law, which…

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“I’m Not Unemployed, I’m Unemployable”: Challenges Finding and Sustaining Work for People Required to Register as Sex Offenders

Source: qualitativecriminology.com April 2023 Many individuals convicted of a sexual offense (ICSOs) experience various collateral consequences due to registration requirements, including income loss, unemployment, harassment, social isolation, homelessness, and more. Finding employment post-conviction is a difficult endeavor for many reentering citizens with criminal records, but for ICSOs, the difficulty increases due to their label as sex offenders. When these individuals are unsuccessful in obtaining steady, living-wage employment, it can result in mental health impacts such as depression, hopelessness, and other reactions. This paper seeks to analyze participants’ emotional and mental…

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GA: Do These Sex Offender Employment Restrictions Make Sense to Anyone?

Source: filtermag.org 10/19/23 In the month since I was released from Georgia Department of Corrections custody, I’ve been offered four different jobs. I could have been an account lead at a prominent insurance agency; a receptionist at the same agency, different location; an accountant at another insurance agency; and a paralegal assistant at a law firm. I submitted each offer to my local sheriff’s department, where each was promptly rejected. It appears there are only two available positions in the entire county I’d be allowed to work, one of them…

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CA: Large Online Retailer Settles Suit for FCRA Violation

Source: pre-employ.com An online retailer recently announced it reached an agreement in a California federal court. This agreement ends a lawsuit with a former associate. According to the case, the associate accused the retailer of illegally using information about a past conviction to deny him a full-time job. The online retailer did not detail the terms of the agreement. However, it did file a notice stating that it had agreed to settle the lawsuit under the California Fair Chance Act (FCA). The FCA first took effect in January 2018, intending…

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CA Senate Judiciary Committee Approves SB 809

Source: ACSOL The Senate Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 809 last night by a vote of 8 to 2.  The bill will next be heard by the Senate Appropriations Committee on a date to be determined. If passed, Senate Bill 809 would help individuals convicted of a felony to find employment.  As currently written, SB 809 includes people convicted of a sex offense.   Bill sponsors include Californians for Safety and Justice, Center for Employment Opportunities and Root and Rebound.  ACSOL supported this bill both in a formal letter to the…

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OH: Woman quits haunted house job in Columbia Station over registered sex offender co-workers

Source: news5cleveland.com 10/3/22 COLUMBIA STATION, Ohio — A registered sex offender may have been scaring your children for fun at a Northeast Ohio haunted house. It’s a tip received by News 5 Investigators, and in less than 24 hours, we learned two felons were fired. Kim Neubauer says she worked at the Spooky Ranch in Columbia Station for one day this season before quitting. “I did not want to go back this year but I thought I’d try it. I want to go have some fun and make some money. I wish…

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Why Some Sex Offenders Never Get Out Of Prison (video)

Source: youtube.com #VICENews Much of what our society considers common knowledge about sex offenders is currently under debate — from the efficacy of the registry, to housing restrictions, to what treatment, if any, works. One of the most controversial practices is “dead time” — where sex offenders stay in prison for years beyond their sentence, simply because there is no where else for them to go. VICE News’s Alice Hines reports on how our society’s efforts to protect the public from violence ended up backfiring. Help keep VICE News’ fearless…

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CA: Amazon sued over refusal to hire California sex offenders

Source: reuters.com 9/23/22 Sept 23 (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc is facing a proposed class action claiming it illegally used a California sex offender website to conduct background checks on job applicants. Miguel Lerma, who was convicted of rape nearly a decade ago, filed a complaint in Los Angeles federal court on Thursday claiming Amazon and a background check provider, Accurate Background Inc, violated state and federal laws by using the website and considering older convictions for sex offenses in screening applicants. Lerma says he was offered a job at an…

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LA: Hire of convicted rapist causes business to close, Shreveport discusses violence

Source: shreveporttimes.com 5/16/22 The Shreveport City Council voted unanimously to uphold a license revocation against a local taxi cab service that admitted to hiring a convicted rapist.  The company, VIP Taxi Services LLC, spoke before the City Council on Monday in an attempt to appeal the Shreveport Police Department’s order that it suspend services immediately.  SPD revoked the company’s license after discovering VIP allowed registered sex offender Ontario Samuels to drive, despite his third-degree rape conviction. Read the full article  

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IL: Felony child sex offenders evade background checks, state law to make state fair carnival vehicles in Illinois work

Source: illinoisnewstoday.com 9/22/21 Illinois State Police investigation is “open and ongoing” Agricultural Ministry may terminate carnival company contracts as “indignated” After investigating Target 3 Springfield, Illinois — A registered sex offender six months after the Illinois Correctional Bureau released 41-year-old Jason Flynn from state prison on Ferony’s conviction, including sexual abuse of a 12-year-old child. Was working on a carnival. Equipment near toddlers at the Illinois State Fair. Despite background checks protocols and state law designed to keep child sex offenders away from children at fairs, the WCIA survey is…

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UT: Request from registered sex offender to change taxi driver ordinance raises bigger questions

Source: stgeorgeutah.com 8/8/21 A local resident’s request to the Cedar City Council for an exemption to one of its ordinances has raised the question of when – or if – a convicted sex offender who has since served their time and been crime-free should be allowed to have the same freedoms to pursue a living as other citizens. The issue first came up in May when Enoch resident Jamie Sherman spoke to the City Council during the public comment portion of the agenda. Sherman told the council that he and…

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NJ: All six chiropractors who voted to restore license of sex offender resign

[newjerseyglobe.com – 3/8/21] Six members of the New Jersey Board of Chiropractic Examiners under fire for restoring a medical license to a convicted sex offender have resigned, an attorney representing the chiropractors said. The resignations come six days after Gov. Phil Murphy announced that he was replacing Brett Wartenberg, Thomas Senatore and Paul Lyons on the state regulatory board. The other three members — David Allen, Rosemary Calio and Albert Stabile – were on holdover status and in the process of being replaced. “It is our understanding from recent government…

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CT: A Sex-Offender Synagogue President Resigns Despite Rabbi’s Support

[forward.com – 10/10/18] The president of a Connecticut synagogue resigned his position on Sunday, one week after his status as a registered sex offender became widely known in his community, bringing a #Metoo-era quandary about repentance and disclosure to a small suburb of Hartford, Connecticut. In 2008, Jason _________, now 53, went to meet with who he thought was a 13-year-old girl, allegedly to take nude pictures of her. The girl turned out to be law enforcement officers conducting a sting, and he was arrested. After his arrest, he immediately…

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CA: Governor Brown signs landmark legislation to remove barriers to licensing and decrease recidivism

[rootandrebound.org – press release] [Note: AB 2138 will not benefit those convicted of a sex offense] Sacramento, CA—This past weekend, Governor Edmund “Jerry” Brown signed AB 2138, authored by Assemblymembers David Chiu and Evan Low, to remove barriers for occupational licensing for close to 8 million Californians living with criminal records. AB 2138 was supported by a coalition of 50+ organizations, including East Bay Community Law Center (EBCLC), Root & Rebound, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC), All of Us or None, Anti-Recidivism Coalition, Alameda County Public Defender, PolicyLink,…

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Sex offenders need not apply

[narsol.org – 6/22/18] By Mike W . . . At our core we cherish opportunity and equality as key American values. They define us. They make us who we are. Any obstacle that inhibits opportunity and equality is not only a major barrier; it is discrimination when it limits people unnecessarily. When discrimination is a barrier to opportunity, we have a responsibility to eliminate it. We must not tolerate discrimination in any form. One of these barriers to opportunity and equality is the sex offender registry. The registry is a…

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