S.F. considering making ex-cons a protected class for renting / jobs

S.F. weighs protecting ex-cons seeking homes, jobs


Ex-convicts may soon become a "protected class" in San Francisco - joining African Americans, Latinos, gays, transgender people, pregnant women and the disabled.

A proposal being circulated at City Hall would make it illegal for landlords and employers to discriminate against applicants solely because they were "previously incarcerated."

Sex offenders and perpetrators of some violent crimes would not be covered.

It would also be illegal to ask anyone about their criminal past on an initial job or housing application.

"The mechanics still need to be worked out," said Supervisor and sheriff candidate Ross Mirkarimi.

"This is a very important discussion on the eve of an immense state prisoner realignment that's going to return hundreds of prisoners back to San Francisco," Mirkarimi said.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/12/BA161K9LGE.DTL#ixzz1S1DIhcdC

that made their integration back into society impossible.

I'm a proud San Franciscan. :patriot:

citizens long after they have supposedly paid their debt to society in full.....

Making them second class citizens is more profitable to businesses and the government agencies dedicated towards them.

to deny them their civil rights.

If convicts who have served their time and paid their price to society cannot re-integrate into the community, they will obviously have a higher rate of recidivism.

Obviously this cannot apply to violent or sexual offenders...but for non-violent crime? Absolutely.

Also, what about certain sex offenders?

"Sex offenders and perpetrators of some violent crimes would not be covered."

But I'd not want to rent to a known thief, or employ someone in a daycare accused of fraud.

/shrug

This prohibits you from asking on the initial application. The idea is to let the applicant get in the door for an interview to convince you of their merits. It is dumb for businesses that require criminal background checks by law to have to waste their time scheduling an interview for someone the state will not let them hire.

the ones that have paid a price for stealing just might have learned a lesson or two...the ones that haven't been caught yet...welll....no database there to help you discriminate!

'Bout fucking time.

I know that most people deserve a second chance but no one convicted of any violent crime should be given protected class status. If I were a victim of such a crime, I would be outraged. Especially if it was my neighborhood, or even worse, my apartment building that he (or she) moved into.

A couple of drunk bar patrons getting into a fight in a bar and one ending up more harmed than the other isn't on the same level as someone robbing a store and beating the shit out of the person behind the counter.

I can imagine those are the types of distinctions that would be made.

And for the record...neither is okay.

But I tend to look at factors such as alcohol use, how long ago the event occurred, etc.. Someone who got into a bar fight 10 years ago and has since given up drinking shouldn't be stigmatized for life for a crime they've already paid for.

I think the mechanics should be worked out before it becomes law.

I always get the feeling that they are a little disorganized. Anyone from San Francisco, please forgive me if I am wrong. I love it there.

IIRC (I could be wrong, but...) in Germany, if you commit a crime, and serve time in prison, once you're released from prison, your criminal record is sealed, and will not show up in background checks. Furthermore, the media is forbidden from printing or broadcasting stories about your crimes. The purpose is to give you a chance to get an honest job where you can make a decent living, and ensure that scarlet-lettering does not prevent you from being able to get work and live honestly. Of course, if you reoffend, you're right back in prison, and with a much longer sentence.

through no fault of their own.

It happened to me, and I'm pretty sure it's why I'm having such a hard time finding a job.

...as well as credit checks. I'm a believer in past behavior being the best (albeit not perfect) predictor of future behavior.

But if I lived in SFCA, I would follow the law.

or people who have embezzled working in the accounting office. I can think of quite a few other examples.

San Francisco is in the wrong country.