Boxed Up
Mayor David Condon announced that the city of Spokane has banned the box— removing a line from the city’s employment application asking about past felony convictions.
The Mayor instructed the city’s Human Resources Department to develop policies meant to give qualified applicants “with mistakes in their past” a shot at getting employment with the city government, one of the largest employers in Spokane. “Those who are being released have this blockage in the way, to keep them from getting back in the community and be productive,” said James Wilburn, NAACP Chair.
Fast-forward to this month, and the box on city employment applications (for most positions) is gone. But a month into the policy being on the books, there’s been no similar publicity announcing that qualified felons now have more equal footing when being considered for city jobs. That’s a big problem, say local advocates.
W. Barry Nixon is the COO, PreemploymentDirectory.com the leading background screening information portal and online worldwide directory of professional background screening firms and Suppliers to the background screening industry. He co-authored the landmark book, Background Screening & Investigations: Managing Hiring Risk from the HR and Security Perspective. He also is the publisher of award winning newsletters, The Background Buzz and The Global Background Screener, and the author of the Background Checks column in PI Magazine.
In addition, Barry is a past recipient of the elite ‘Top 25 Influential People in Security’ by Security Magazine and past Co-Chair, International Committee for the National Association for Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS). He currently serves as a Global Ambassador for NAPBS.
You can contact Barry at 1-949-770-5264 or online at wbnixon@preemploymentdirectory.com