Philadelphia is helping former felons start over with a clean slate. Mayor Nutter signed a bill designed to limit how far employers can look into the criminal history of job seekers. NBC10’s Aundrea Cline-Thomas explains the concept of “ban the box” and speaks to a former prisoner who is seeking honest work.
Employers in Philadelphia will now only be allowed to run a criminal background check on candidates after making them a job offer under new provisions aimed at removing barriers to hiring former felons.
Mayor Michael Nutter on Tuesday signed legislation expanding the city's existing rules aimed at helping ex-offenders find work. City agencies and private employers must now give candidates a copy of their criminal record — which could include inaccurate information that they would have the chance to correct and appeal.
Employers would also be allowed to go back only seven years when inquiring about criminal history, instead of being able to look into a candidate's record indefinitely.
Employers hiring for domestic services, such as child or elderly care, would now be exempt from this law.
