Felons barred from constructing Apple’s campus

Kevin Yip playing with his 22 month old son, Dominic King Yip in front of his parents' home where he grew up in San Bruno, California, on Friday, April 3, 2015. Kevin Yip playing with his 22 month old son, Dominic King Yip in front of his parents' home where he grew up in San Bruno, California, on Friday, April 3, 2015. Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Felons barred from constructing Apple’s campus 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

Apple is known for being secretive and picky about who works on its popular devices, but now, union officials say, that thinking also applies to the construction workers pouring the concrete for the tech giant’s new offices.

Several construction workers who were hired to build the exterior of Apple’s new campus in Cupertino were ordered to leave the site in January due to prior felony convictions, several union officials and workers told The Chronicle. The ban is unusual for construction work, a field in which employers typically do not perform criminal background checks.

“Apple is always nervous about preserving its proprietary information, and yet I don’t know how this would affect that concern,” said Michael Theriault, president of Iron Workers Local Union 377. “Our folks put the wire in the reinforcing bar (of the building). It makes no sense to me.”

For work on the Apple site, anyone with a felony conviction or facing felony charges “does not meet owner standards,” according to documents from construction companies acquired by The Chronicle.

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Theriault and union business manager Dennis Meakin wrote letters to Apple CEO Tim Cook and state Attorney General Kamala Harris in January, asking for a change to that policy, but have not received a direct response.

Both Theriault and Meakin pointed out that formerly incarcerated workers have little representation in the tech industry, and the few positions they hold “are largely through employment in services such as construction.”

“Apple’s prohibition against employment of former felons or those with a pending felony charge does not just fail to address inequality, then, but amplifies it,” both men wrote in the letters. “It is, moreover, an evil precedent.”

No comment

Harris’ office confirmed that it received the letter, but declined to comment on it. Union officials said they do not plan to file a grievance or take legal action. They have been in discussions with DPR, the firm overseeing Apple’s new campus, but DPR has not agreed to change the policy.

DPR and Skanska, which also is working on the project, did not return requests for comment. Apple declined to comment on the terminations or confirm that it bars workers with a felony record.

Kevin Yip, 26, had been working on Apple’s new campus for several weeks in mid-January when a manager told him to turn in his badge. When Yip asked why he was losing his job, he was told it wasn’t due to performance but because he had been convicted of a felony within the last seven years.

Mistake long ago

In 2008, Yip pleaded no contest to a felony charge of battery causing serious bodily injury. He says he was in a fight and a man’s jaw was broken, but he didn’t do it.

“It’s not fair for people’s pasts to come back ... and not be able to support their family and stay out of trouble,” Yip said.

With four years of construction experience, Yip was earning $1,200 to $1,500 a week working for Apple. Now, he lives with his parents in San Bruno and supports his 22-month-old son, Dominic, with $450 a week in unemployment.

“Any job right now would be better than nothing,” Yip said. “I would do anything. I put my all into everything.”

It can be difficult for people with criminal histories to land work. It is within a company’s right to ask applicants about felony convictions that can relate to their job, and in some cases, it makes sense for companies to limit their employment — say white collar criminals at accounting firms, or sex offenders at schools.

But advocates for ex-offenders say that what has happened on Apple’s campus is unusual because prior felonies usually aren’t a factor when hiring construction workers. Anders and Anders Foundation, an outplacement agency for ex-offenders, says workers with prior felonies have worked on major San Francisco construction projects including AT&T Park and buildings for tech companies such as Facebook and Salesforce.

“Let’s be real about helping all boats lift,” said Terry Anders, the foundation’s director.

Possible challenges

Banning felons could bring about legal ramifications for Apple, said Lisa Klerman, a law professor at the University of Southern California.

“If they are just disqualifying people with felony convictions with no connection to the job, they could be challenged legally,” Klerman said.

People who have served prison or jail time, or have a felony conviction on their record, are 20 percent less likely to find work, compared with people in the same demographic who don’t have criminal records, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research’s analysis. There are at least 12 million people in the United States in this category, according to the center’s 2008 data. Work is seen as key to curb recidivism, expert said.

“When people get an opportunity to get a job and make a living, their likelihood of returning to crime goes down dramatically,” said John Schmitt, a senior economist with the center. “There is a strong association with people not finding a job and people ending up back behind bars.”

Wendy Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: wlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @thewendylee