April 9, 2014 (Lansing) – Michigan small businesses reject a measure by
nearly 15 to one that would prohibit them from asking about an applicant’s
criminal history until the end of the process, according to a survey released
today by the National Federation of
Independent Business (NFIB).
“A person’s criminal history
is part of the public record and that information is used by school districts,
government agencies, lenders, land lords and even Little Leagues to get a
general sense of an applicant’s character,” said NFIB Michigan State Director Charlie Owens. “Small business owners take all the risk and
they are entitled to publicly available information about the people whom
they’re hiring.”
Pressure is building in
Lansing to pass a bill that would ban businesses from asking prospective
employees about their criminal history until after the application process is
completed. The proposal is often referred to as the “Ban the Box” law because
it would remove a common question on job applications referring to any past
criminal convictions. This “Ban-the-box” legislation has been introduced by
State Rep. Fred Durhal Jr., (D-Detroit), as House Bill 4366. Its backers
say that people with felony convictions have a hard time reentering the
workforce because their records follow them around.
“But the answer cannot be to
keep that information secret from employers whose assets, financial
information, employees, customers and reputations are affected by the people
they hire,” said Owens.
NFIB asked its members in
Michigan – more than 10,000 small business owners – about what they think of
the proposal. Eighty eight percent (88)
aren’t buying it while only six percent think it’s a good idea.
“They view this as another
mandate by well-meaning politicians and social crusaders who will never have to
pay a nickel or deal with the consequences when it blows up,” said Owens.
The advocates are willing to
let employers ask about criminal history, but not on the application and not
during the interview process. Only when
they’ve made an offer of a job can they ask the applicant if he’s ever been
convicted of a crime.
“Meanwhile, they’ve spent
lots of time reviewing applications and interviewing candidates. They’ve spent money on advertisements. And they’ve left a position unfilled, which
means a loss of productivity,” said Owens.
“What the activists want is to force employers to wait until they’ve
actually made an offer before they can ask the question. That’s exactly backward.”
An even bigger risk, said
Owens, is the legal morass that is sure to accompany the ban.
“Even if an applicant
discloses a felony conviction, the employer would have to prove that it’s not the
reason the job offer was rescinded,” he explained. “That will lead to an avalanche of
discrimination lawsuits. Raise your hand
if you think that what Michigan’s economy needs are more lawsuits.”
Owens said that his members
are sympathetic to people who made a serious mistake and who are trying to turn
their lives around. In fact, many small
business owners already employ ex-felons.
“The point is that they’re
free to ask the question and talk about it with the applicant,” he said. “The only way to judge a person’s sincerity
and character is to talk to them, and this measure would prevent and even
punish that kind of communication.”
A better approach, said
Owens, is embodied in bi-partisan legislation currently under consideration
that would create incentives and protections for employers who hire ex-offenders
and require prison officials to certify that people who emerge from the system
are employable. Those bills are HB 5216, HB 5217 and HB 5218 and the bills’
sponsors are Reps. Klint Kesto (R-Commerce Twp.), John Walsh (R-Livonia) and
Harvey Santana (D-Detroit), respectively.
“The state and the
politicians should have some accountability here,” said Owens. “It’s entirely unreasonable for them to
mandate that employers take all of the risk without giving them any way to
protect themselves, their employees, their customers and their assets.”
For more information about
NFIB, please visit www.nfib.com.
