Fatima Hussein

The Indianapolis Star

INDIANAPOLIS — A group of 12 civic organizations want to stop Indiana's governor from signing a bill they believe will make it more difficult for former inmates to become gainfully employed members of society.

The ACLU of Indiana, the Indiana State Conference NAACP and others are calling on Gov. Eric Holcomb to veto Senate Bill 312, which would ban the state and municipalities from passing laws and ordinances requiring employers to remove the check box on applications that asks if job seekers have a criminal record.

The bill, which passed both houses, awaits Holcomb's signature.

Countless county and city governments, including Indianapolis, have enacted measures called ban-the-box laws. Most, but not all, state and local laws are limited to potential public employees.

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As of March, 20 states and the District of Columbia regulated when in the hiring process an employer can ask about an applicant's criminal history, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. These policies essentially push questions about criminal history to the back end of the hiring process, the job interview.

If the governor signs this legislation, Indiana's potential ban on such laws could become effective as early as July.

Barbara Bolling-Williams, president of the Indiana chapter of the NAACP, has written to Holcomb asking him to not only veto the bill but also sign an executive order that would ban the box on public jobs in Indiana. In February, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, also a Republican, signed an executive order that would ban the box on positions in Kentucky's executive branch.

"Criminal-justice disparities are exacerbated by challenges that African-Americans face in employment," she said in her letter, adding that blacks are disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system.

"This disparity cannot be explained by individual choices about committing crimes," Bolling-Williams said. "For example, even though African-Americans use illicit drugs at a similar rate as white people, they are much more likely to be arrested and convicted of drug crimes."

Authored by GOP Sen. Phil Boots of Crawfordsville, Ind., SB 312 contains an amendment, co-authored by GOP Sen. Chip Perfect of Lawrenceburg, Ind. The amendment is a new business liability reform measure that would give employers legal protection from any potential illegal actions of employees with criminal backgrounds.

Bolling-Williams questions why the state would not ban the box and maintain the liability reform measure.

"It makes no sense," she told The Indianapolis Star.

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Since 2010, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, New York and Texas have passed negligent-hiring liability laws similar to Perfect's amendment.

Other areas of the country are attempting to enact bills similar to SB 312.

In December, Texas Republican Paul Workman introduced House Bill 577 in that state's legislature that bars local governments from enacting laws that prohibit, limit or regulate private employers’ ability to look into prospective employees’ criminal histories.

Andrew Bradley, a policy analyst at the Indiana Institute for Working Families, also has requested that Holcomb veto SB 312.

The bill as passed would not create hiring options for communities throughout Indiana that have high incarceration rates because of the opioid crisis or minority arrests, he said.

In addition to the 20 states that limit when employers can ask about a job seeker's criminal record, six others offer either certificates of employability for recent inmates that serve as proof of rehabilitation or protect companies from liability from employees' potential illegal acts, according to the state legislatures conference.

Bradley hopes Holcomb will "provide meaningful employment protections" to reduce recidivism and strengthen the workforce within communities.

More than 70 million people in the United States have a prior arrest or conviction record, or nearly 1 in 3 adults, according to the National Employment Law Project.

Society as a whole has an incentive to encourage employment opportunities for those with a criminal record: A study from the nonpartisan Urban Institute found that former offenders employed within two months of release were less likely to be incarcerated a year later.

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A spokeswoman for the governor would not say whether Holcomb intends to sign the legislation.

"The governor will consider this bill carefully before making a final decision, as he will every bill that makes its way to his desk," she wrote in email.

Follow Fatima Hussein on Twitter: @fatimathefatima

Indiana Senate Bill 312