Article by Patty Katz
Over 650,000 people leave state and federal prison every year and millions more leave local jails. The transition back to the community is far from welcoming for most returning prisoners. Formerly incarcerated people are stigmatized and stereotyped, and face a range of laws and policies that undermine their ability to become active and productive citizens.
Finding permanent employment is just one of the many challenges formerly incarcerated people have when re-entering the community. One study showed that people with a criminal record were more than twice as likely to be denied employment as people without a criminal record. Although someone may have done the hard work of putting their life back on a positive track, potential employers can easily let a person’s conviction history become the primary factor in a hiring decision.
When does the past become the past?
One Person’s Story that’s Far Too Typical:
My name is Patty and I am a woman in recovery from addiction. I also have a felony record --- I served one year for a drug conviction. After prison, my first job in my new life was working for a regional anti-drug initiative –- they wanted me because of the recovery experience I brought to the table. I spent the next four years creating drug and alcohol prevention strategies for middle and high school students. Outside of my job, I spent hundreds of hours per year as a volunteer sharing my experience, strength and hope with people who are locked up in jails and prisons.
When the funding for my job ended, I was ready to apply for new employment, having more than six years clean since my felony conviction and solid work experience. I applied for a position with the county where I lived. They knew my story of addiction and recovery and were excited to hire me for a temporary position similar to my past work. The job was likely to turn into a permanent position when the new fiscal year began. They sent me to the temporary employment agency that manages the county’s payroll for all temporary employees.
I showed up at the temporary agency with my résumé, my “atta-girl” book with letters, awards and samples of my community event flyers. I filled out the application and when I got to the question: “Have You Been Convicted Of A Felony In The Last Seven Years? (marking this box will not automatically disqualify you from employment),” I told the truth. I had a conviction more than six years ago and had clearly turned my life around.
The temp agency notified the county that I was an unacceptable candidate because I had a felony conviction. I lost the job.
How does a person move Beyond Barriers such as this?
Securing stable employment is one of the primary factors in making a successful transition back into the community, and there are fairly simple steps that government bodies can take to provide meaningful support. In the past year, Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco, have changed their hiring policies and practices to reduce the barriers to hiring qualified people with felony convictions.
Partnership for Safety and Justice is launching a new campaign, “Think Outside the Box.” This Campaign focuses on removing employment barriers in Multnomah County, Oregon’s most populous county surrounding Portland.
Multnomah County has a standard hiring practice that poses a significant barrier for qualified job applicants with felony convictions. The county’s initial job application asks people to check a box if they have ever had a felony conviction. Although some people’s criminal records may be relevant to particular hiring decisions, asking people about their conviction history on the initial application creates an unnecessary barrier likely to lead to blanket discrimination early in the process. The county could be screening out qualified (and perhaps the best) candidates and sending the wrong message to the public about people with felony convictions.
We're proposing that Multnomah County revise its employment application process so that they don't ask questions about previous felony convictions until later in the hiring process. Qualified applicants should have the opportunity to present their qualifications to a hiring committee in person.
Some county jobs have statutory restrictions on employing people with felony convictions. In those cases, it makes sense to be explicit about those restrictions up front so people with related felony records don’t waste their time. But for other jobs, people should be screened into an interview pool based on the quality of their application and experience. Only then should they be asked about any past convictions and given an opportunity to explain the relevance or non- relevance of past convictions in-person.
We are encouraging the county to adopt a non-discrimination policy that allows job applicants to be seriously considered based on their experience and qualifications and allows people to discuss the relevance of any criminal history at a more appropriate time in the hiring process.
The campaign name, Think Outside the Box, refers not only to the box on employment application forms asking for conviction history, but also to the need to think beyond the preconceptions and stereotypes people often have of someone with a felony conviction.
Please join us by showing your support. There are many ways to get involved with this campaign. If you have a story about employment discrimination based on a previous felony conviction that you want to share, let us know. Send us your personal story at:
Partnership for Safety and Justice
PO Box 40085
Portland, OR 97240
Please include your name so we can get in touch with you, but you can request that your story be shared without your name.
For more information about the “Think Outside the Box” campaign, contact Patty either by phone: 503.335.8449 ext. 206 or send Patty an email [0].