New Orleans City Council strengthens protections for felony job applicants

(The Center Square) — Convicted felons applying for city government jobs in New Orleans will have more protections thanks to action by the city council, but advocates say the policy should extend to city contractors as well.

The New Orleans City Council voted on May 12 to amend a hiring ordinance in a move advocates say is a long-overdue step toward fairer employment opportunities for people with felony convictions.

The amendment, passed unanimously, limits how employers can consider criminal history when evaluating job applicants. It requires city departments to document, in writing, why a criminal record disqualifies a candidate, and to explain how the conviction is directly related to the job’s essential duties.

Applicants must also be given a chance to dispute the background information or submit evidence of rehabilitation.

If an employer denies an applicant without properly vetting the applicants criminal history, the applicant may sue the employer in civil court.

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City council members noted that the new rules apply only to city government hiring and public contracts — not private businesses.

“This is about ensuring people are valued based on their skills, not their stigma,” said Ronald Marshall, himself formerly incarcerated. “Ban the Box isn’t effective without an enforcement mechanism.”

The policy is limited to the city as an employer. Councilmember Eugene Green sought to clarify that point during the hearing.

“I want to get clarity. What we’re proposing affects the city as an employer. I don’t want people to think the City Council passed something that applies to private entities,” Green said.

But advocates stressed that the policy should apply to all contractors doing business with the city as well.

“This will concern all employees who contract with the city,” Marshall said. “The city is subbing contracts out to contractors who are not hiring people because of public records.”

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“There are jobs here available,” Alfred Marshall, a member of Voice of the Experienced and a convicted felon. “If it has to do with any city entity, let’s hold those contractors accountable to make sure people of New Orleans get those jobs.”

Marshall and others noted that the city originally passed a “Ban the Box” ordinance in 2018, which removed the checkbox asking about criminal history from initial job applications. But without clear enforcement or recourse for applicants who face discrimination, Marshall said, the impact has been negligible.

“There was no statistically significant improvement in employment outcomes for low-educated Black, Hispanic, or white men,” Marshall said. “Employers still find ways to access records, especially with third-party data companies. Even if your record is expunged, they still have the original record — and use it.”

Under the new rules, hiring departments must disregard felony convictions unless they have a “direct and specific nexus” to the job in question. Employers must also consider the “nature and gravity of the offense” and any evidence of rehabilitation.

They must also provide applicants with a written explanation if a conviction leads to rejection and allow rejected applicants to challenge the accuracy of the record or submit mitigating information.

“When you pass a law to prevent discrimination but have no enforcement mechanism, that law is meaningless,” Emily Posner, general counsel for VOTE, said. “Until someone’s pocketbook becomes at risk, there’s no motivation for that discrimination to end.”

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