Title
Amending Chapter 183 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code to add a provision to prohibit prospective employers from requesting pre-hiring criminal record checks.
Body
THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAINT PAUL DOES ORDAIN:
SECTION 1
WHEREAS, economists and public policy experts throughout the country agree that the disproportionate rate of African American and Hispanic involvement in the criminal justice system and the corresponding collateral consequences from a criminal record exacerbate racial disparities in employment; and
WHEREAS, African Americans and Hispanics are arrested at a rate that is two to three times their proportion to the general population; and
WHEREAS, based on current incarceration trends, 1 in 17 white men are expected to serve time in a correctional facility in their lifetime, and this rate climbs to 1 in 6 for Hispanic men and to 1 in 3 for African American men; and
WHEREAS, in 2011 economic reports indicated that Minnesota had the highest rate of African American unemployment (18%) out of 19 major economic cities; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul is committed to reducing employment barriers which disparately impact communities of color;
Now, therefore the council finds that screening applicants for employment by asking for their criminal history without identifying which convictions are reasonably related to the job being sought should be prohibited. Accordingly, the city council enacts the following amendments to Chapter 183 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code.
SECTION 2
Chapter 183 of the Saint Paul Legislative Code is hereby amended to add a new section as follows:
183.042 - Prohibited Acts in the Pre-Employment Hiring Process
(a) An Employer, other than one who is expressly permitted to inquire into an individual's criminal history for employment purposes pursuant to any federal or state law, may not inquire into or consider the criminal record or criminal history of an applicant for employment until the applicant has been selected for an interview by the employer. This section does not prohibit an Employer from notifying applicants that law or the employer's policy will disqualify an individual with a particular criminal history background from employment in particular positions.
(b) In order to use a criminal conviction to disqualify an applicant from employment, the conviction must be one that: 1) directly relates to the job to be performed; or 2) that is a disqualifying conviction under a state or federal law for the occupation.
(c) For purposes of this section, "conviction" means an adjudication by a court of competent jurisdiction that the defendant committed a felony, gross misdemeanor, and/or a misdemeanor
(d) The following criminal records shall not be used in connection with any application for employment:
(1) Records of arrests not followed by a valid conviction.
(2) Convictions which have been, pursuant to law, annulled or expunged.
(f) For purposes of this section, "employer" means any business entity that recruits, solicits or accepts applications for employment from residents of Saint Paul including job placement, job referral and employment agencies.
SECTION 3
This ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days following its passage, approval and publication.