[300bps]

An assault charge is likely relevant for most positions.

If I hire a convicted felon with a track record of assault and they end up assaulting another employee or customer, I’d feel responsible.

The victim would probably hold me legally responsible.

I’d feel more comfortable hiring someone with a 100% track record of never having been convicted of assault.

If you disagree, is there any number of assault convictions that would change your mind? Or do you mentally wipe the slate clean no matter what?

[NegativeLatency]

I think it really depends. Someone who had an a assault conviction at say 18 and is now 40, is a different situation from someone who very recently assaulted someone (but also how could you expect someone to change if they're never given a chance).

There's also the negative case of someone who has assaulted someone but was never caught, you can't safely eliminate that because there's no record of it.

[SoftTalker]

Assault is also not always what you might imagine. It doesn't require physical harm or even contact. Just putting someone in fear of harm can be assault. E.g. a disagreement getting heated and someone saying "I'm going to kick your ass" is technically assault. As is brandishing a weapon or making other threatening gestures even without physical contact or harm.

[grinfield22]

Technically, sure. But you're not going to sit in prison for years such "technical" cases. So, somebody who did sit must supposedly have done more than that.

Second, I rather not have colleagues who are making threatening gestures or threaten to kick someones ass. I'm slightly appalled by the normalization of this kind of behavior.

[phpisthebest]

Based on your response you most likely are not using Assault in the legal sense but in the Common Sense, but given the topic is legal in nature we should be using legal definitions.

Assault act of causing someone to reasonably fear imminent harm, what most people think of Assault they actually mean what the law calls battery which is actually causing physical harm.

Further I am not sure why we are focusing on Assault or battery, the OP said that was not the charge they were convicted of, and a Felony by definition is any crime punishable by more than 1 year of imprisonment which given the "Tough on crime" provision starting in the 90 makes a HUGE number if non-violent offenses felonies, as something a simple a playing your music too loud could be in some circumstances classified as a felony (often charged as " Nuisances" which is many states is a low level felony)

Most people have "felon" associated with violent crime, or serious crime, but unfortunately in our over criminalized society most people commit as many as 3 felonies a day not even knowing it.

[grinfield22]

> Further I am not sure why we are focusing on Assault or battery, the OP said that was not the charge they were convicted of

The OP is inconsistent with their information as they write that they were literally released on assault charges:

> I have been looking for work since I was released for an assault charge in November 2022.

[300bps]

Legal definition of both assault as well as battery is state dependent.

[bsder]

Criminals who don't reoffend (even for things like assault) within 5 years are almost always statistically a better risk than the public at large.

I won't say that it's almost tautological, but it's pretty close.

If you can surpass conviction and probation, you are remarkably self-disciplined. Probation conditions are much more problematic than an actual job, and the penalty for failure is going back to jail.

A person who can pass that kind of environment is absolutely the kind of person you want working for you.