Once upon a time &quot;felony&quot; meant the sort of crime that you could be executed for.  In that context nearly any restriction short of death seems reasonable.  But our society has pushed &quot;felony&quot; down to mean anything which might result in custody of a year or more.  That used to mean only those sent to prison (jail != prison) would be called felons.  But there again society has pushed down the punishments to the point that most &quot;felonies&quot; don&#x27;t even result in jail time (ie drunk driving).<p>We can all hate lawyers and laws, but throwing around &quot;felon&quot; and &quot;convict&quot; so loosely has brought us to this unsettling situation.  I can understand giving a commissioner power to have a &quot;felon&quot; fired or barred from certain employment, but only under the old definition of the word (murders, rapists, arsonists etc).<p>I&#x27;m not sure the law could be used to bar any and all employment.  It may be constitutional as a &#x27;regulation&#x27; but a total ban on any form of work would be a per se deprivation.  It&#x27;s akin to land use rules which can limit used but cannot forbid any and all economic use.  That constitutes a taking, as banning someone from any and all work would constitute an unconstitutional exile and&#x2F;or an ex poste facto increase in punishment.