Continuing to undermine previously passed “Ban the Box” legislation that prohibits employers from asking about an applicant’s criminal record at the time of application, the General Assembly once again introduced several bills to expand the use of background checks in professions that rather than promote public safety, further push ex-offenders outside of a positive community atmosphere.
Among those provisions that died this year were: H 2281, to disqualify many otherwise well-suited individuals from working supervisory positions as contractors for any number of an enormous list of offenses entirely unrelated to the profession; H 2280 and S 7606 to require taxi and ride share drivers to undergo fingerprinting and criminal record checks; and S 2230 to authorize the denial or suspension of a medical laboratory license for persons convicted of any felony or some misdemeanors. One piece of legislation passed, however: H 7790B and S2502B now allow for the denial of licenses to food truck vendors with unspecified felonies in their past "relevant to that person's suitability" to work in a food truck.
The ACLU continues to voice our concerns about the breadth of these bills and the lack of consideration for the nature and gravity of the offense, the time that has passed since the offense, conduct and/or completion of the sentence, and the nature of the job held or sought.
