Were we watching the same hearing?
Re: “Issa, Holder square off over Fast and Furious,” June 8
NBC News Chief Foreign Affairs Correspondent Andrea Mitchell showed a clip on her show in which it was obvious that Attorney General Eric Holderwas ducking questions about the Fast and Furious program asked by House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa.
Impatient with Holder’s patent nose-thumbing at legitimate congressional oversight, Issa kept interrupting his filibustering nonanswers.
But Ms. Mitchell — unfazed by the refusal of President Obama’s attorney general to cooperate by deliberatelyavoiding answers to the questions — said, “Don’t you love it when a chairman doesn’t let a witness answer questions.”
Nathan Dodell
Rockville
Supporting illegal behavior is normal for D.C.
Re: “Feds to check D.C. jail records for illegal immigrants,” June 5
Is anyone surprised that D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray and others in the local government would oppose the Secure Communities program?
Supporting illegal activity in D.C. government is standard operating procedure — and why the feds are still looking into criminal behavior by the mayor and his associates.
One reason many immigrants are victims of crime is because criminals know they won’t call the police.
Craig Truskey
Midland, Va.
No major change in EEOC guidelines
Re: “EEOC’s protection of felons could hurt minority hiring,” June 4
Hans von Spakovsky’s op-ed suggests that the EEOC’s recently revised guidance on the use of criminal records in making employment decisions marks a dramatic change in civil rights policy, and severely restricts employers’ ability to use this information in making employment decisions. He is wrong on both points.
Since 1971, the U.S. Supreme Court has held that Title VII not only prohibits intentional discrimination, but also “disparate impact” discrimination — that is, discrimination which occurs when the use of a neutral policy (such as a background check) disproportionately impacts members of a protected class, such as sex or race.
In 1987, under then-Chairman Clarence Thomas, the EEOC issued guidance to employers that use criminal background checks about how to do so lawfully in accordance with Title VII. The revised guidance approved earlier this year updates and clarifies that guidance to reflect the realities of a digital age. It by no means marks any sea change in EEOC practice or policy.
As they have for the past 25 years, employers are still free to use criminal background checks in making employment decisions, subject only to the express requirement that when they do use such information, it must be related to the job in question and consistent with business necessity.
This updated guidance — which I voted for — was approved with bipartisan support. It provides employers, employees and job applicants with clear, consistent notice of their rights and responsibilities under the law. Nothing less, nothing more.
Victoria A. Lipnic
Commissioner,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
