Rocky Point school district clarifies 'criminal record' job posting
The mistaken post, above, was quickly corrected, the district said, but not before it was copied and circulated on other job search websites. Credit: Newsday
An erroneous online posting for employment opportunities in Rocky Point schools raised eyebrows Tuesday for encouraging people with a criminal record to apply.
School district Superintendent Scott O’Brien issued a statement in response later Tuesday: He said the district “does not encourage individuals with a past criminal record to apply.”
O’Brien said the district traced the wrong information, which circulated on some job-search platforms, to a recent posting on the jobs website Indeed.
The district recently began to use Indeed in addition to its own website and OLAS, an online search platform that connects candidates to school jobs, to publicize its job openings.
Last week, the district released a posting outlining its openings on those officially sanctioned platforms. However, the district said, there was an error in the initial Indeed posting.
“The platform includes a section titled ‘Fair Chance Hiring,’ within which is a statement that reads, ‘People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply,’” O’Brien wrote in the statement. “In error, this statement option remained selected when the posting was released but was subsequently, and quickly, removed when the posting was updated.”
Indeed did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
O’Brien said the district does not partner with other third-party job search platforms. However, other job search websites, which scrape employment information from public sites, copy online postings without monitoring for any updates or corrections, the district said.
O’Brien said the district has contacted the third-party sites, which also included inaccurate information regarding salary and benefits, and requested that “the falsely advertised positions be removed immediately.”
“All prospective employees must undergo and pass a fingerprint-based background check in accordance with New York State law prior to employment,” he wrote.
An erroneous online posting for employment opportunities in Rocky Point schools raised eyebrows Tuesday for encouraging people with a criminal record to apply.
School district Superintendent Scott O’Brien issued a statement in response later Tuesday: He said the district “does not encourage individuals with a past criminal record to apply.”
O’Brien said the district traced the wrong information, which circulated on some job-search platforms, to a recent posting on the jobs website Indeed.
The district recently began to use Indeed in addition to its own website and OLAS, an online search platform that connects candidates to school jobs, to publicize its job openings.
Last week, the district released a posting outlining its openings on those officially sanctioned platforms. However, the district said, there was an error in the initial Indeed posting.
“The platform includes a section titled ‘Fair Chance Hiring,’ within which is a statement that reads, ‘People with a criminal record are encouraged to apply,’” O’Brien wrote in the statement. “In error, this statement option remained selected when the posting was released but was subsequently, and quickly, removed when the posting was updated.”
Indeed did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
O’Brien said the district does not partner with other third-party job search platforms. However, other job search websites, which scrape employment information from public sites, copy online postings without monitoring for any updates or corrections, the district said.
O’Brien said the district has contacted the third-party sites, which also included inaccurate information regarding salary and benefits, and requested that “the falsely advertised positions be removed immediately.”
“All prospective employees must undergo and pass a fingerprint-based background check in accordance with New York State law prior to employment,” he wrote.
Dandan Zou covers education for Newsday. Previously, she worked for a community newspaper in Maryland and a personal finance magazine in Washington, D.C.
