I'm sad that that's the way things are. I think that once someone has paid their debt to society through the justice system, that this should be acceptable to society.
Another incident demonstrating that "the system" (more than just the criminal justice system, as it extends to subsequent civil and commercial life) is neither about justice nor about rehabilitation.
A further corruption: I've read that, even when there is a will to "take a chance" (aka employ and treat as a member of society) people with a criminal record, businesses can face obstacles -- sometimes insurmountable, for a smaller business -- to do so. One particular one: Insurance companies audit for such employees, and either cancel insurance or raise it to unaffordable rates.
No, there isn't. Convicts are one of the last remaining class of people not protected by law. Every time any effort begins to make convicted folks a protected class, it makes politicians appear weak on crime and is quickly silenced.
For people who live outside the US, you may want to consider that "convicts" include random drug testing (medical marijuana, poppy seeds testing positive for opium, alcohol/diabetes issues, HIV) – and of course, sexual preference.
Yes, there are laws and court cases that should change the outcome, but that means a lawsuit.
In other words, US employment frequently comes with a lot of implicit assumptions about your lifestyle.
Edit to add: fortunately random drug tests aren't very common in the tech industry.
That's what really bothers me about the legal system in this country. Any brush at all with the legal system, no matter what it was, how minor it was, whether you were actually guilty or innocent, or what you say about it now, gets you blacklisted in a huge swath of the professional industry.
