Ex-convicts are unlikely to benefit from equal opportunity legislation regarding their criminal history. Criminal history is not listed under bases of discrimination named in the laws. Multiple areas will do background studies before hiring: such as law enforcement, human services, medicine amongst others, to protect the populations they serve.

It is also to be expected that laws vary greatly among countries.

From Tulane university: (referring to the United States)

...one possible definition of the phrase, based on federal regulations, is:

“An employer that pledges to not discriminate against employees based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability or genetic information.”

Unfortunately, this definition doesn’t define each and every situation where discrimination may or may not occur. Moreover, anti-discrimination laws at the federal, state and local levels often require that employers offer “equal opportunity” to job-seekers. So why bother identifying your company as an equal opportunity employer? Where does that phrase even come from?

The origin of its common use goes back to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which made equal opportunity employment a federal law. The legislation made it illegal for companies to discriminate against employees or potential employees based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

Title VII of the law established the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), whose main purpose is to investigate claims of employment discrimination. The 1972 Equal Employment Opportunity Act amended Title VII and expanded the EEOC’s powers, giving the agency the authority to enforce anti-discrimination laws more directly.

Several laws have been passed since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which further expanded the characteristics that are protected from discrimination in an employment setting: for example, these protected classes may include race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, and genetic information.

If it’s illegal for employers to disobey labor laws and the EEOC’s anti-discrimination guidelines, then it would follow that every business, by default, should be an equal opportunity employer. So why do companies label themselves in this way?

It turns out that there are a few exceptions to the federal rules under which certain organizations are not required to follow EEOC guidelines. For example, religious organizations are exempt because hiring people from other religions could be at odds with their mission.

A larger exception is that many small businesses and labor organizations are exempt from the EEOC guidelines if they have fewer than a certain number of employees. Here’s a summary of which small organizations are required to comply with EEOC regulations:

Employer TypeSubject to EEOC General ProvisionsAge Discrimination (Age 40 or older)Equal Pay ActPrivate businesses>14 employees for at least 20 calendar weeks this year or last year>20 employeesYes*State and Local Government Agencies>14 employees for at least 20 calendar weeks this year or last yearAny number of employeesYes*Federal AgenciesAll federal agencies are coveredAll federal agencies are coveredYes*Employment AgenciesAny number of employees or referralsAny number of employees or referralsYes*Labor Unions and Joint Apprenticeship Committees>14 members for at least 20 calendar weeks this year or last year>24 members or if it operates a hiring hallYes*

* Virtually all employers are covered by the Equal Pay Act, with few exceptions, which makes it illegal to pay different wages to men and women if they perform

In many countries criminal history is not a protected category and while it could potentially mean ground for an anti discrimination lawsuit. The companies that do not hire ex felons often protect themselves by stating that they work with for example large amount of funds or with vulnerable populations and they do have an responsibility to perform due diligence in the safekeeping of the funds and in the protection of the vulnerable populations they work with. Additionally knowingly hiring an ex convict would often present liability issues for the business in case of any wrongdoings by an ex convict they have hired.