"Sniffing" for Chemical-Free is a cross-post from Working America’s Dear David workplace advice column. David knows you deserve to be treated fairly on the job and he’s available to answer your questions, whether it is co-workers making off-handed comments that you should retire or you feel like your job's long hours are causing stress.

An estimated 65 million people in this country—or one in four adults—now have an arrest or conviction record that can show up on a routine criminal background check for employment. Today, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the agency that enforces federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination, voted 4-1 to approve updated guidelines on how employers may use criminal background checks on job applicants and current workers.