A.G. Gancarski
There is a movement afoot in the United States to allow reformed criminals to have a second chance, and a couple of bills in the Florida House could be part of that.
Earlier this month, Rep. Shervin Jones filed House Bill 31, which would remove the requirement on job applications for an applicant to disclose whether he or she has ever been convicted of a felony.
Employers would have recourse to a background check later in the process, but the initial screening wouldn’t be scuttled by an initial conviction.
“I firmly believe that automatically denying someone an interview based on their previous actions deprives them of that second chance,” Rep. Jones said in a press release.
On Thursday, a second bill was filed, one which echoed the sentiments of HB 31.
House Bill 553, filed by Tallahassee Democrat Ramon Alexander, bars requirement of criminal history disclosures on applications for public employment and public colleges and universities.
While the public employer eventually can consider criminal history, once it is determined that the applicant is otherwise qualified, no such provision exists for the colleges — which means that those with criminal history would have parity with those without such blemishes on their records throughout the process.
Alexander said that, in the case of college admissions, “second chances” are necessary to “break generational cycles.”
One comment
Becky Jamin
January 26, 2017 at 6:46 pm
I agree with the ‘Ban the Box’ bill. People should not be denied even an interview just because they have a felony on their record. If they have proper qualifications and have not been in constant trouble, with law enforcement since the original felony, they can, at least be given a chance to prove themselves. Potential employers can investigate felonies further down the line, if need be.
Comments are closed.