In order to discourage discriminating practices against convicted felons, the City of Seattle has passed legislation prohibiting employers from conducting background checks through the first stage of the hiring process. the idea behind the legislation, as I understand it, is so that the human resources manager can take a good look at the skills sets and general attributes of the job applicant without being prejudiced by previous criminal records. This, the Seattle City Council believes, will help increase employment for he poor and needy and by virtue of their getting jobs, it will reduce crime.
According to the article in the SLOG, employers will be subject to warnings and then fines up to $1,000.00 if they disregard the law. Employers, the council hopes, will only consider past criminal records if the convictions are relative to the job.
