Sunday, January 15, 2006
Job alert: In its never-ending quest to end discrimination in all shapes and forms, San Francisco will no longer ask most city job applicants up front if they've ever been convicted of a crime.
"The goal is not to discourage ex-offenders from applying for city jobs that they are eligible for,'' said ever-liberal Sheriff Michael Hennessey, who is expected to join supporters Tuesday at a news conference outside City Hall promoting the open-arms policy for "formerly incarcerated people.''
The idea was pushed by the prison rights group All of Us or None.
"Obviously if ex-offenders are going to become law-abiding citizens, they have to be able to get employment," Hennessey said. "The feeling of applicants is that having the question of criminal history on the initial applications sends a message that they will be disqualified.''
The new policy, which had backing from the Board of Supervisors and is supposed to be formally adopted by the city's Civil Service Commission this week, would be a first in California.
We should point out that applicants for "sensitive jobs'' such as police or Hennessey's own deputies would still be asked the question. And anyone who becomes a finalist for any city job will still be required to fill out a supplemental criminal history form, and have the chance to explain any past convictions in an interview.
Nobody wanted to go on the record here opposing the idea, but one law enforcement official questioned whether the city was opening itself up to lawsuits down the road if it happens to overlook a violent or dangerous offender.
"Absolutely not,'' said Human Resources Director Phil Ginsburg. He says the change actually will allow the city to "do a more diligent job of assessing criminal history when it's relevant'' -- in other words, closer to when any of the city's 30,000 annual applicants might be hired.
In any event, Hennessey says employment data show parolees aren't any more likely than the rest of the population to commit workplace violence.
And he should know.
Hennessey says he has anywhere from six to a dozen ex-cons working for him, most of them as drug counselors. And then there was Michael Marcum, who spent seven years in prison after being convicted at age 18 of killing his abusive father. He joined the department, rose through the ranks -- and ended up as Hennessey's assistant sheriff.
"He was one of the finest people I've ever worked with,'' Hennessey said.