D.C. Council Member Phil Mendelson has said he is worried that a bill seeking to prevent employment discrimination for ex-convicts could pass today in a form that he fears could lead to lawsuits.
The bill, called “Human Rights for Ex-Offenders,” was introduced in September by Council Member Marion Barry, D-Ward 8. It seeks to amend the Human Rights Act of 1977 and would “prohibit employment discrimination based upon a status of previous incarceration, where the criminal record is unrelated to the jobheld or position sought and where there is evidence of rehabilitation,” according to the bill.
Neither Barry, who himself served six months in prison on drug charges in the 1990s, nor his spokesman Keith Perry, could be reached Monday for comment.
Mendelson said Monday the bill is too vague.
“We’ve been looking at whether there were some amendments that could make the bill clearer about how it applies,” Mendelson, who chairs the judiciary committee, said.
Mendelson said he worried if the bill passed as is, it could lead to lawsuits against employers who turn down employees whose ex-offender status might have directly affected their ability to do the job or who simply weren’t qualified for the position in question.
“For example, someone who robbed a bank, you don’t want working in a bank,” Mendelson said. “There are instances where a person’s previous run-ins with law enforcement are relative to a decision. How do you write the bill so that you draw a bright line? That’s what’s troubling.”
