• There are a number of laws governing the employment of felons.prison image by Albert Lozano from Fotolia.com
  
  People who have been convicted of a felony face a number of federal and state laws regulating what positions they can hold upon their release from incarceration. Many professions that require licenses, such as law and education, do not allow felons to hold jobs, while convictions for certain types of crimes can bar felons from entire industries.
  
  

Banking

• According to federal law, if a person is convicted of a felony that involves money laundering, "breach of trust" or "dishonesty," he cannot be employed by an institution insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insures nearly all U.S. savings banks. An exception can be made if the person receives the written consent of the FDIC, but the person is not eligible for this dispensation until 10 years after the date of a conviction.
  
  

Securities Trading

• Both the Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates the trading of securities, and the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, which regulates the trading of commodities, reserves the rights to bar employment to a person working in or on the exchange if convicted of a felony, as well as certain other offenses, including misdemeanors, such as theft, counterfeiting, bribery, embezzlement, perjury, and mail fraud.
  
  

Childcare

• Federal laws requires that persons caring for children undergo criminal background checks. However, felonies will not necessarily automatically disqualify an employee. However, if the person was convicted of a crime against children or a sex crime, she will likely be barred from the position.
  
  

Union

• People cannot be employed by a union or any organization managing an employee benefit plan until 13 years after the date of a conviction. This does not mean the person cannot join a union, only that he cannot manage one.
  
  

Federal Office

• A felony will not necessarily prohibit a person from holding office. However, some federal laws do authorize courts to remove convicted felons from office or render them ineligible. However, other federal laws bar felons convicted of certain crimes from holding certain offices. For instance, a federal officer or employee who uses federal money to lobby a member of Congress will lose her job, as will an employee convicted of unauthorized inspection of a tax return.
  
  

Health Care

• People convicted of certain crimes are also barred from working for companies that receive payments from Medicare or that manufacture generic versions of drugs.
  
  

Licensed Professions

• Felonies will often disqualify someone from holding a federal or state professional license. Most federal licenses may be lost if the holder is convicted of a drug offense, while it is left to the discretion of state agencies to decide whether a felony merits revocation of a state professional license.