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Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for May 16, 2024
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
May 16, 2024: Eighty-two percent (82%) of voters say that employers should be allowed to require background checks of potential employees as part of the application process. A Scott Rasmussen national survey conducted by RMG Research found that just 10% say they should not be allowed to require them. When asked specifically about retail companies that experience high levels of petty theft, 94% believe it is reasonable for employers to require applicants to pass criminal background checks.
This follows a lawsuit by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) against Sheetz, a large gas and convenience store chain. The EEOC alleges that Sheetz’s policy of requiring criminal background checks for all applicants amounts to racial discrimination because minorities fail those background checks at higher rates than white applicants. However, the survey found that, even if people of a particular gender, racial, or ethnic group are less likely to pass such background checks, 80% voters say requiring them is not a form of discrimination.
Methodology
The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on April 25-24, 2024. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of registered voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points.
Note: Neither Scott Rasmussen, ScottRasmussen.com, nor RMG Research, Inc. have any affiliation with Rasmussen Reports. While Scott Rasmussen founded that firm, he left nearly a decade ago and has had no involvement since that time.
Survey Questions
Some employers require applicants to pass a criminal background check before being hired. Should employers be allowed to require these sorts of background checks as a condition of employment?
- 82%-Yes
- 10%-No
- 8%-Not sure
Retail companies experience high levels of petty theft. When hiring employees who are going to have access to merchandise and cash, is it reasonable for such stores to require job applicants to pass a criminal background check?
- 69%-Very reasonable
- 25%-Somewhat reasonable
- 3%-Somewhat unreasonable
- 1%-Very unreasonable
- 1%-Not sure
Generally speaking, men are less likely than women to pass criminal background checks. Knowing this to be true, does requiring a criminal background check discriminate against men?
- 14%-Yes
- 80%-No
- 7%-Not sure
What about race? If people from some racial and ethnic groups are less likely to pass criminal background checks, is requiring a criminal background check a form of racial discrimination?
- 15%-Yes
- 80%-No
- 6%-Not sure
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
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- May 9, 2024-94 statewide ballot measures have been certified for the ballot in 34 states
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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See also
Footnotes
