DA, Others Pushing Jobs-For-Convicts Bill

ATLANTA, GA — Fulton County's prosecutor will join with clergy and civil rights leaders to ask Georgia politicians to help convicts get a second chance at finding a good job.

District Attorney Paul Howard is requesting a meeting with Gov. Nathan Deal to discuss a bill currently before the state legislature under which Georgians convicted of non-violent crimes would not have to disclose those convictions when applying for most jobs.

The "record restriction" bill would apply to only one felony conviction or up to three misdemeanor convictions and would kick in after the convict has completed his or her sentence and not committed another crime for five years.

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The bill, Howard said, is an effort to give convicts, who often face a hard time getting jobs due to their records, a "second chance to work, a second chance at life."

He is being joined by the Rev Raphael Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the Rev. Kevin R. Murriel, pastor of Cascade United Methodist Church, Doug Ammar, executive director of the Georgia Justice Project and Roger Wise, a longtime civic and political leader in north Fulton County.

"It is never too late, or early, for justice," Warnock said in a news release.

Georgia would join 25 other states with similar laws.

According to a 2015 New York Times report, men with criminal records account for about 34 percent of all nonworking men between the ages of 25-54. Those number of men, particularly black men, with criminal convictions shot up in recent decades as governments pursued aggressive anti-drug and other law-enforcement strategies, the Times reported.

The group could find an open ear with Deal, who is in his last year as governor due to term limits. In 2015, Deal signed an executive order instructing state offices to avoid the use of a criminal record as an automatic bar to employment. The order also instructed hiring officers for most state jobs to give applicants a chance to discuss information about their criminal histories and provide evidence of rehabilitation.

Under House Bill 981, sponsored by Rep. Wendell Willard, R-Sandy Springs, and others, the exemption would not apply to people seeking jobs with police agencies or schools, many that involve working with children and ones in which the applicant would be in charge of handling large amounts of money.

It was officially introduced last month, but has not gone anywhere since. Backers hope a push from Deal could help, although Monday is the 36th day of the General Assembly's 40-day annual session.

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