Hartford, CT - Aug 17, 2010 -
For James Butler III, the little box on job applications looms large: Have you ever been convicted of a felony? The machinist from Hartford, convicted nearly a decade ago of drug and weapon charges, says he rarely hears back from employers when he checks the dreaded box.
“I knew it was a turnoff,” Butler said. “I got to the point where I almost wasn’t going out there and look[ing] for work.”
But Butler didn’t give up and ultimately landed a job with a welding company. He spoke in favor of a new law in Connecticut that eliminates the criminal record question on state employment applications, hoping it will make it easier for convicts to land jobs and stay out of prison. Connecticut has become the fourth state after Minnesota, New Mexico and Hawaii to enact so-called “ban the box” laws for state jobs, according to the New York-based National Employment Law Project. Another 21 cities, including New Haven, Hartford, and Norwich in Connecticut, and Boston, Chicago, San Francisco and Minneapolis, have banned the conviction question, said Maurice Emsellem, policy coordinator at the project.
“There’s a huge concern that in urban areas in particular that people are seriously disadvantaged in trying to secure a job based on most any criminal record,” Emsellem said. “Ban the box is an effort to create standards to keep pace with the proliferation of criminal background checks.”
The laws don’t prohibit employers from asking the question once they’re face to face with applicants and don’t stop them from doing background checks. But supporters say eliminating the question on applications gives them a chance to get an interview and explain their past.
“If we truly want people to have a chance at rehabilitation and become productive members of society, it doesn’t make sense to set them up for immediate rejection when it comes to finding a job,” said Rep. Douglas McCrory, D-Hartford. “Moving the criminal background check to later in the hiring process is fairer for a prospective employee and still protects an employer without prejudicing them with an initial application check-off.”
McCrory said the law, which goes into effect October 1, will allow job seekers to be evaluated on their skills and qualifications and not immediately rejected based on a criminal conviction. Once an applicant is deemed qualified, he said a criminal background check will be conducted. For Butler, that means a chance to tell employers his conviction was for the least serious category of felonies, and did not involve violence and that he has stayed out of trouble after a difficult period in his life. He said he can also tout his skills and status as a veteran.
Governor M. Jodi Rell vetoed the bill, saying job applicants are already protected by anti-discrimination provisions in the law and said the vagueness of the law could lead to challenges by applicants. But lawmakers on Monday overrode her veto.
The law could have wide implications because more than 200,000 state residents have felony convictions and about 6,000 prisoners are released annually, according to supporters. But Connecticut, like other states, has a huge budget deficit so hiring prospects are dim for now. Audrey Richards of New Haven is hoping the new law will help her 24-year-old son Joseph land a state job. She said he served a one year prison sentence for drug possession when he was 18 and has since been repeatedly turned down for jobs at stores due to his record.
“He’s frustrated,” Richards said. “Sometimes he’s angry. He feels let down. You would think they would give him a chance.”
