Apple ends ban on hiring felons

CUPERTINO, Calif. – Apple has opened the door for construction workers with recent felonies on their records to help build its new campus.

The tech giant has lifted a requirement that people who had been convicted of felonies within the past seven years could not work on the massive Cupertino construction project, Apple spokesman Josh Rosenstock told the San Jose Mercury News. After the policy came to light this week, Apple came under fire from union leaders and advocates, who say construction jobs are a key source of work for felons trying to transition back into society.

“It recently came to our attention that, as part of a background check process unique to the Apple Campus 2 construction project, a few applicants were turned away because they had been convicted of a felony within the past seven years,” the spokesman said in a statement. “We recognize that this may have excluded some people who deserve a second chance. We have now removed that restriction and instructed our contractors on the project to evaluate all applicants equally, on a case by case basis, as we would for any role at Apple.”

Apple’s policy extended to all people working on Apple Campus 2, not just construction workers, a person with knowledge of the matter said. Workers who had charges pending against them were considered on a case-by-case basis.

Fewer than five people were turned away from the project due to felonies on their records, a person with knowledge of the matter said. But leaders suspect some construction workers who had been convicted of such crimes were deterred from applying for the work in the first place.

Iron Workers Local Union 377 objected to the policy by sending letters to Apple CEO Tim Cook and state Attorney General Kamala Harris in January. A spokeswoman for Harris said earlier this week that the office had reached out to Apple but declined to comment further.

Felons are sometimes barred from working on construction at sites such as schools and prisons, but the bans are somewhat rarer for private construction projects.