Harris County to limit questions on past crimes for potential hires
Applicants for jobs in Harris County government will no longer be asked about their criminal history during the initial hiring stages in accordance with a new policy the Commissioners Court approved Tuesday.
The initiative, proposed by County Attorney Christian Menefee, is intended to remove barriers to employment for residents who have been convicted of a crime, or merely arrested, in the past.
“This policy is about removing the stigma for these folks and giving them a fair opportunity in the employment process,” Menefee said. “We know that the No. 1 factor decreasing recidivism among ex-offenders is ensuring they’re able to obtain and maintain stable employment.”
Menefee, the first Black person elected to the post he holds, said the initiative is particularly important for minorities and people of color, who are disproportionately affected by the criminal justice system.
Harris County hiring managers would still be able to investigate an applicant’s background, though only after extending a conditional offer of employment. The purpose of this rule, Menefee said, is to ensure applicants aren’t unfairly screened out because of previous offenses.
More than 30 states and 150 cities and counties have adopted “ban the box” measures, named for the section on many job applications that asks applicants if they have ever been convicted of a crime.
County Judge Lina Hidalgo said about 1 million of Harris County’s 4.8 million residents have an arrest or conviction record and face a stigma to employment. She said the county government’s workforce of 18,000 should be open to these applicants.
“(Studies) show that the existence of a criminal record reduces job callbacks by 50 percent on average and 60 percent for African American male applicants,” Hidalgo said.
Research on the effectiveness of “ban the box” measures is mixed, however. A 2018 study co-authored by Texas A&M economist Jennifer Doleac found that young, low-skilled Black men were less likely to be employed with such a rule in place, though older, low-skilled Black men and highly educated Black women were more likely to find a job.
A paper that same year found that Seattle’s ban the box policy had no measurable effect on employment rates of those with criminal records, while a 2017 study found that employment among people with a criminal history dropped 5 percent after Massachusetts adopted a ban the box policy.
Hidalgo and the other two Democrats on the Commissioners Court — Precinct 1’s Rodney Ellis and Adrian Garcia in Precinct 2 — voted for the proposal. The two Republicans — Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey and Jack Cagle in Precinct 4 — voted no.
Ramsey said he supports hiring people with criminal records. He said he believes hiring managers are fair, however, and deserve to know upfront if an applicant has been convicted of a crime.
“I have lots of great examples of how people found employment from fully disclosing on day one,” Ramsey said.
Cagle concurred. He said he supported full transparency rather than a “process of distrusting our employees and trying to trick them” into offering someone a job they otherwise would not have.
Harris County’s policy applies only to departments overseen by the Commissioners Court, though Menefee encouraged the county’s other elected officials to follow suit.
He acknowledged that some departments, such as the sheriff ’s and constables offices, use criminal background checks early in their hiring processes, and for good reason.