In Limbo or Ejected: How Criminal Charges Disrupt Employment Trajectories

• In Event: Long Term Effects of Criminal Legal System Contact

Abstract

Much attention has been paid to the negative impact of convictions and incarceration on employment trajectory. Yet, recent studies also show that even minor contact, such as an arrest, can significantly impact labor force participation and earnings. Building on this predominately quantitative work, we utilize interview data to provide further insight into how lower levels of contact impact employment. Drawing on 102 in-depth interviews with people on pretrial release in Houston’s Harris County and Chicago’s Cook County, we theorize that being charged with a crime is accompanied by a state-induced liminal period that institutionalizes waiting in daily life. We then identify two manifestations of waiting that bear implications for (un)employment: 1) being in limbo and 2) being ejected. Our exploration of the work experiences of people charged with a crime underscores waiting as a key, albeit little explored, dimension of the relationship between low-level contact and employment outcomes. Moreover, we identify theoretical and substantive connections between liminality, marginalized waiting, and punishment.

Authors

• Faith Deckard, University of California, Los Angeles

• Erin Eife, George Mason University