WCC opposes law against hiring released felons for unrelated jobs

A proposal to allow employers to discriminate against persons convicted of felonies when no connection exists between the crime and the job is not needed to make Wisconsin safe, said the executive director of the Wisconsin Catholic Conference.

In addition, the proposal, which its supporters call "The Workplace Protection Bill," will undermine efforts to reintegrate offenders into society, may lead to higher prison costs and will disproportionately hurt members of racial minorities and their families, warned John Huebscher.

"Our policies should be crafted to foster the return of felons to productive work in society," Huebscher said. "This proposal will take us in the opposite direction."

The proposal would permit employers to deny a job to a convicted felon even if the crime for which the person was committed has nothing to do with the job in question. The bill has been introduced in past legislative sessions and opposed by the WCC.

"The bill is based on the false premise that Wisconsin's work places are unsafe but the facts don't support that contention," Huebscher argued.

He noted that the U.S. Department of Justice's 1999 Report, Crime in the United States, ranks Wisconsin 42nd in its rate of violent crime. Only eight other states have a lower violent crime rate. In addition, although rape and murder get headlines, most offenses in Wisconsin are for less violent crimes.

Violent crimes account for only a small percentage of all adult arrests in Wisconsin. He added that while over 64,000 people are on probation or parole, this number does not include those who are no longer under supervision but have not been pardoned. As a result, the number of people affected by the proposal is sure to be considerably higher.

"You can't make the case that prohibiting job discrimination against felons has undermined workplace safety. The low rate of violent crime in Wisconsin does not justify undermining the right to employment of so many."

Current law already allows employers not to hire people whose offenses relate to the job in question. That "law strikes a reasonable balance that should be retained," Huebscher argued.

Huebscher observed that a special Legislative Council Committee on Faith-Based Approaches to Criminal Justice based its proposals on research that shows those offenders with the best chance of staying out of prison are those who have a supportive family, a supportive faith community and gainful employment.

"This proposal will reduce access to one of the very supports that keep people from re-offending," Huebscher noted. "If we are serious about reining in prison costs we should be opening doors to the workplace, not closing them."

Last year, Wisconsin's Catholic bishops issued a statement on criminal justice after a 15-month study of Wisconsin's prison system. The statement included a number of principles for criminal justice policy, including restoring the offender to the community.

Huebscher also predicted that the proposal would have a disproportionate impact on the poor and people of color."The jobless rate for African Americans is still more than twice that of whites," Huebscher said. "This proposal can only exacerbate that situation."

"Finally, and perhaps most important, we believe that it is up to society, not individuals or employers, to impose punishment for crimes against the community," Huebscher said. "Through its laws, our society imposes penalties on those who violate its norms. Once a sentence is completed, and the conditions of probation complied with, individual employers should not impose personal 'penalty enhancers' on the offender."

"The crime of embezzlement should not be a greater barrier to being hired as a bus driver than battery to a spouse merely because the employer cares more about financial integrity than violence," he added.

Last month, Pope John Paul said forcefully that more must be done to help prisoners redeem themselves both as individuals and in their relations with society. He cited training to help prisoners re-enter the workforce when they have served their time as key to fulfilling that responsibility.

"The pope has urged us to use this Jubilee Year as an opportunity to take a fresh look at how we may help those who have erred in the task of building their lives. Such a course will serve us better than that offered by this proposal," Huebscher said.