Carrboro alters job applications

The Carrboro Board of Aldermen voted Tuesday to help level the playing field for convicted criminals searching for jobs.

At Tuesday night’s meeting, the board unanimously voted to ban the prior convictions for felonies and misdemeanors box from the initial stage of job applications for town employment.

The Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness had requested the board approve removing the box from the first page of job applications, where it is now located.

Criminal histories will be addressed later on in the hiring process through background checks.

Carrboro Mayor Mark Chilton said the decision will create better opportunities for convicted criminals to obtain jobs.

“What (the box is) tossing out is potentially the knowledge that the felony could have been convicted 20 years ago,” he said.

Chilton said he thinks people change — and in some instances, injustice within the legal system has led to people receiving harsher punishments than they deserve.

“Honestly, over and over and over, that pattern repeats itself,” Chilton said.

By eliminating the box and relying solely on background checks, employers will be able to consider more factors when reviewing applications.

They will be able to see the nature of the offense, the date the crime was committed, the age of the applicant at time of conviction and the circumstances surrounding the crime, among other factors.

But Alderman Jacquelyn Gist raised the issue that studies have shown some criminals convicted of violent crimes are never fully rehabilitated.

“Part of our baseline responsibility is to make sure folks are safe,” she said.

Desiree White, human resources director for Carrboro, stressed that a criminal background check will be conducted regardless of the box.

Gist voted to approve the measure once she realized the issue will be addressed in background checks.

Chilton said now that the box is eliminated, each applicant will be evaluated for who they are now — not for who they were when they were committing the crime.

The board also discussed two potential alignments for the Morgan Creek Greenway.

Preliminary engineering for the first phase of the project is currently under way.

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.