Even a small criminal record can have lifelong consequences for job seekers
Most people have faced a job application with that question: “Have you ever been convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony?”
Depending on where you live, scribbling a check in the box under “yes” is as good as not applying. According to the National Employment Law Project, roughly one-third of Americans have a record in the criminal justice system.
Heather Lewis has been dealing with that box, and its consequences, for more than 13 years since, as a homeless teenager, she tried to steal hygiene products from a Bartell Drugs in Seattle.
“Soap, nail file, toothpaste, mouthwash,” Lewis said, ticking off the list of items she took. “I didn’t even get out the door.”
A judge sentenced her to jail, she served her time, got out and faced the world once again: young, alone, but this time with a millstone weighing her down.
“If there’s a theft on your record, [employers] don’t want to hire you,” she said. “You don’t get a chance to explain.”
It was the first step on a long road for Lewis that ended with drug convictions, homelessness and debt from the court system hanging over her head. Clean since 2011, Lewis wants to put it behind her and move forward as a member of society. But since she lost her job packing cartridges for an e-cigarette company over health concerns, it’s been hard to get back on her feet.
“I’m not trying to make excuses, I’m looking for another chance,” Lewis said.
The inability to get a job because of a previous criminal conviction perpetuates punishment long after a person discharges their debt to society. In many cases, that’s because people are saddled with actual debt, called legal financial obligations, which can accrue interest unless otherwise specified by a court.
Stuck with court fines and barriers to employment in competitive markets, including the Seattle area, formerly incarcerated people are left with few options and little help. That becomes a self-perpetuating cycle of poverty, homelessness and despair in which no one wins.
The issue is complex because there’s more than one avenue to exclude a formerly incarcerated person from employment, and the consequences can be ludicrous and devastating.
It is legal for an employer to use criminal history in the hiring process, according to guidance from the federal Equal Employment and Opportunity Commission. In 2010, 92 percent of employers subjected “some or all” of their job candidates to criminal background checks.
Employers use that information as a way to weed out applicants who might engage in theft, fraud or violence in the workplace.
What’s illegal is discrimination based on a number of other factors, such as race, color, religion, sex or country of origin. However, African Americans and Latinos are more likely to have a criminal record than their White counterparts.
According to The Sentencing Project, in 2014 more than 60 percent of people in prison were people of color. Black men were almost six times as likely to be incarcerated as White men, and Hispanic men were more than twice as likely.
That doesn’t include local jails.
A movement has emerged around the issue called “Ban the Box,” which would delay when employers could ask about criminal records. The idea is that many people with criminal records could be good employees, even better than other applicants, but the employer won’t know that if they don’t make it through to an interview process.
There is such a law in Seattle, but it could be strengthened, says Melissa Lee, a directing attorney with Columbia Legal Services.
What if employers couldn’t ask about a criminal record until they were ready to give a conditional offer?
“Then you would know if someone was rejecting you only for your criminal record,” Lee said. “I think that would really help out.
In an article published last month in Real Clear Markets, Brookings Institute Visiting Fellow Jennifer Doleac argued that current research suggests otherwise, at least for people of color.
In that piece, Doleac cited a study in which a research team sent thousands of fake job applications before and after a “Ban the Box” law went into effect in New York City and New Jersey and then tracked the number of call backs.
White people got calls more often in both cases, but the disparity became four times worse after the policy went into effect, according to the article.
Instead of banning the box, Doleac argues that advocates should push for ways to show that employees are job-ready, whatever their criminal record.
That work is also underway, at least in Washington state.
A law will go into effect on June 9 that will allow people with criminal records access to occupational licenses that were previously denied to them under state law.
Occupational licenses are proof that a person has gone through the training required to participate in certain professions. A number of jobs, including cosmetologist and doctor, require them.
According to Columbia Legal Services, there are more than 90 career paths closed to people with a criminal record. It restricts them from access to a living wage and the ability to care for themselves and their families.
This March, the governor signed the Certificate of Restoration of Opportunities (crop) Act in order to fix that problem.
Sponsored by Rep. Brady Walkinshaw (D-Seattle), the crop Act provides a process through which people who have been convicted of a crime can ask a judge to certify them as able to apply for most professional licenses.
That means licensing boards will not be able to disqualify them for their criminal history if they meet all other criteria.
Applicants must go to the Superior Court either in the county where they live or where they committed the crime. Then they fill out a form and provide proof that they haven’t gotten a charge or arrest within a specified amount of time.
The law excludes sex offenders, and there are special requirements and exceptions for people who will work with vulnerable groups.
At that point, a judge will sign off on their motion and the person will receive their certification, Lee said.
Although the law goes into effect June 9, it will be a while before the first person can get their case through court. The paperwork needed doesn’t yet exist, Lee said, and when it’s ready, it will be an entirely new procedure.
“We think this is a really good starting point that will open the door for a lot of people,” Lee said. “We hope it’s really successful and will allow more people to get a crop in the future.”