ALBANY — State officials, mirroring a move made earlier this year by the City Council, will no longer ask job applicants about prior criminal convictions until after they’ve been interviewed.
The new policy was among a dozen initiatives announced by Gov. Cuomo earlier this week to ease the path for ex-cons seeking to re-start their lives. They were devised by a panel Cuomo created last year to study the issue.
GOV. CUOMO’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM IS NOT DONE
In June, the City Council passed the “Fair Chance Act,” which restricts private employers from asking about arrest and conviction records until after they’ve made a conditional job offer.
New York joins 18 other states to enact some form of so-called “ban the box” measures.
Glenn Martin, who is both a member of the state’s panel and the founder of advocacy organization JustLeadership USA, said that “ban the box” measures can help reduce recidivism.
“This is important because 83% of people who violate parole and probation are unemployed at the time of violation and there’s a close correlation between having a job and staying out of trouble,” he told the Daily News.
That’s something Martin understands from personal experience. In the 1990s, Martin served six years in New York State prisons for robbery charges.
When he got out, he applied at close to 50 different jobs. He said, “It was almost a joke — I couldn’t even sell sunglasses.”
Finally, he got hired as the front desk clerk at a law office and, “Six years later I was running a non-profit with a $23 million budget.”
In addition to the change in state hiring practice, the executive actions will make it easier for felons to get occupational licenses, help newly released inmates get state IDs, give prisoners a chance to save money behind bars, and ban discrimination based on criminal record in New York-financed housing.
In a public statement, Alphonso David, counsel to the governor, said, “When people are released from incarceration or have a criminal record, they are burdened with obstacles that greatly hurt their chances at working, living with their families, and staying healthy.
“From its inception, this Council has worked diligently with state agencies not just to identify unnecessary barriers placed on people with convictions but to reduce them, consistent with public safety. In only one year, this Council has already taken great strides in this endeavor.”
With KERI BLAKINGER
