Post by rmarks1 on Jun 17, 2013 11:51:48 GMT -5
A Seattle City Council committee approved a bill Wednesday that would
prohibit businesses from asking a job applicant about criminal history
until after an initial screening.
Members of the Public Safety Committee voted 5-0, with one abstention, to send the bill to the full council Monday.
The committee also voted down several amendments supported by the
business community that Chairman Bruce Harrell said would render the
protections of the bill “meaningless.”
“My intent here was that there be some nexus between the criminal
history and the job. It does put a higher burden on the employer. That’s
good policy,” Harrell said.
The committee heard testimony from dozens of people, many of them
ex-convicts who described how hard it had been to find employment after
they had served their time and were trying to restart their lives.
“When I got out of prison, and put in a job application, I was honest
about my incarceration, but I found all doors closed,” said Nick
Maxwell. “If a person has paid his debt to society, he should have an
opportunity for a job and to feed his family. People shouldn’t have to
serve a life sentence for their past.”
The bill prohibits the use of a checkoff box on job applications that
asks if the job seeker has ever been convicted of a crime.
Employers could consider a conviction later in the hiring process and
reject an applicant, but only if there is a legitimate business reason
to do so.
The bill doesn’t apply to jobs that involve access to vulnerable
people, including children, the disabled or elderly. It also doesn’t
cover law-enforcement positions.
The city Office of Civil Rights could investigate complaints brought
by an applicant turned down for a job solely because of his or her
criminal history.
The city could impose fines of as much as $1,000 for a third violation.
prohibit businesses from asking a job applicant about criminal history
until after an initial screening.
Members of the Public Safety Committee voted 5-0, with one abstention, to send the bill to the full council Monday.
The committee also voted down several amendments supported by the
business community that Chairman Bruce Harrell said would render the
protections of the bill “meaningless.”
“My intent here was that there be some nexus between the criminal
history and the job. It does put a higher burden on the employer. That’s
good policy,” Harrell said.
The committee heard testimony from dozens of people, many of them
ex-convicts who described how hard it had been to find employment after
they had served their time and were trying to restart their lives.
“When I got out of prison, and put in a job application, I was honest
about my incarceration, but I found all doors closed,” said Nick
Maxwell. “If a person has paid his debt to society, he should have an
opportunity for a job and to feed his family. People shouldn’t have to
serve a life sentence for their past.”
The bill prohibits the use of a checkoff box on job applications that
asks if the job seeker has ever been convicted of a crime.
Employers could consider a conviction later in the hiring process and
reject an applicant, but only if there is a legitimate business reason
to do so.
The bill doesn’t apply to jobs that involve access to vulnerable
people, including children, the disabled or elderly. It also doesn’t
cover law-enforcement positions.
The city Office of Civil Rights could investigate complaints brought
by an applicant turned down for a job solely because of his or her
criminal history.
The city could impose fines of as much as $1,000 for a third violation.
seattletimes.com/avantgo/2021127944.html
Bob Marks
