This is one of those stories where it can be seen either as a sad commentary on urban America or a hopeful spot in the American job market. The Newark, New Jersey City Government approved a new law requiring small restaurants in the city to have an armed guard on the premises, during the evening hours. This comes in the wake of a drive-by shooting at a Newark restaurant where an off-duty police officer was killed.
According to the article on Reuters, any restaurant serving fifteen people or less must hire armed security or close by ten p.m. This is referring to the small, walk-in restaurants that one city official termed a haven from criminal activity.
One business owner complained that it is unfair and would put him out of business. He noted his restaurant is close to a hospital and as such he gets law abiding employees from the hospital who have at most a half hour to eat.
Meanwhile, it will be interesting to see if the smaller restaurants hire off-duty cops or private rental cops. With all the small restaurants this may pose as an increase in hiring but will hardly alter Newark’s struggling economy. As for conducting background checks on new hires, I would think this a good idea. Otherwise, it’s a matter of time before we learn that some of the armed security hired have their own criminal records. This is not to accuse the hiring practices in Newark. This is just the law of averages anymore. Even public service groups and state governments learn they have hired convicted felons and sex offenders. Scandals abound with promises to amend their hiring and conduct more thorough background checks. And more importantly, actually read the background check, before they hire.
To read the full article go to the link on RecruitingBlogs.com
