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This is morning, I am pleased to announce some great news from the Virginia General Assembly. Senator Rosalyn Dance (D-District 16, Petersburg) had been pushing to the ‘ban the box’ to give those who have paid their debt to society a fair chance to seek employment without barriers from the past. Senator Dance’s “ban the box” bill, SB335, passed through the Virginia Senate and now makes its way to the Virginia House for deliberation.
Miss Community Clovia said, ‘let’s put skilled workers back to work.
Senator Dance said, “So often, our fellow Virginians who have paid their debts to society get judged on their past mistakes rather than on their future potential. We need to make sure that our brothers and sisters have the ability to demonstrate their skills, knowledge, and abilities for appropriate jobs, rather than being repeatedly denied a second chance. I am heartened that my colleagues have voted to write this protection into state law.”
Senator Donald McEachin (D-District 9, Henrico) said, “We should not continue to punish Virginians who have paid their debt to society, who just want to get back to work and to contributing to society. This bill gives these fellow Virginians the opportunity to be judged on their strengths and what they bring to the table, not on mistakes that they made years ago. It provides an opportunity for Virginians with unrelated former convictions to prove themselves, and not get barred based on the one checkbox.”
The bill generally bars state agencies from inquiring into a candidate for employment criminal background before making a conditional offer of employment, and it prevents them from withdrawing such an offer unless a past conviction relates to the duties or responsibilities of the particular position. Also, local public employers’ are guarantee participation in the ability to “ban the box”, without mandating that they do so.
