By Karen Florin
The Day
NEW LONDON, Conn. — Kwan Jenkins has a criminal record. He also has a job.
Convicted at age 22 of an armed bank robbery, Jenkins served 10 years in prison. Now 38, married, attending college and involved with church, he said he has had a hard time convincing hiring supervisors that he’s a different person.
For the past seven months, he’s worked in customer service at Friendly Flowers in New London. He appreciates the work but said he and his wife, who also works, are struggling financially. He would like to find something that pays better but says employers have told him they could not take a chance on him. He said he won’t give up.
“I’ve tried to let the employers know I’m not going to let my past determine my future,” he said. “I always kept an open attitude.”
Lawmakers hoping to convince employers to consider hiring people like Jenkins passed the Fair Chance Employment Law last year. Effective Jan. 1, it prohibits most employers in Connecticut from asking on their initial application about prior arrests, criminal charges or convictions. Eight other states have similar legislation, referred to as “Ban the Box” in reference to the area on an application that asks about crime.
Several municipalities, including New London and Norwich, implemented the policy before it was required by law. Ban the box is intended to prevent hiring supervisors from eliminating qualified applicants on first review simply because of their criminal records. Companies still are allowed to ask prospective employees about their criminal records in follow-up interviews and conduct background checks.
Representatives of the region’s major employers, most of which have positions that require security clearances or professional licenses, have made the required adjustment to their hiring processes.
Pfizer Inc., which employs about 3,000 people in Connecticut, implemented the change last year, according to spokeswoman and senior director Joan Campion.
Electric Boat spokesman Dan Barrett said the submarine maker “has not inquired about prospective employees’ criminal backgrounds during the initial application process for several years, so we don’t need to modify our practices to comply with the new Connecticut law.”
At Lawrence + Memorial Hospital, which employs almost 2,400, and Westerly Hospital, which has about 625 workers, the overall hiring philosophy is “to look at each case individually and understand that sometimes what’s happened in a person’s past doesn’t reflect who they are,” said Michael O’Farrell, director of public relations.
“We believe in the opportunity of giving people a second chance, but because of the business we’re in, of dealing with people at their most vulnerable times, we’ve got to balance our hiring decisions,” O’Farrell said.
In general, if a person is called for an interview and it goes well, the hospital asks the question about criminal history and background checks begin, O’Farrell said. Depending on how the person answers the question, it could lead to further conversation.
“If you’ve had something that happened in your past, but it is truly in your past, it’s fair to say that would be looked on favorably, as opposed to if you were just nailed for embezzlement three weeks ago and you are applying for our finance office,” he said.
Shawn Mawhiney, director of communications for Hartford Healthcare, said the company removed from their employment application the section that asked about criminal history. Hartford Healthcare employs more than 17,000 people, including about 1,700 at The William W. Backus Hospital.
“We continue to perform criminal background checks after making job offers to candidates,” Mawhiney said by email. “When a candidate has a criminal background, we review their qualifications on a case-by-case basis depending upon the position, how long ago the incident occurred, the severity of the crime, and other factors.”
Operators of the region’s two tribal gaming casinos say that in many cases, background checks are necessary because employees must qualify for gaming licenses.
Charles Bunnell, chief of staff for the Mohegan Tribe, said that the tribe has adjusted the language in its application to indicate that upon employment, the applicant may be subject to a background check due to licensing requirements.
At Foxwoods Resort Casino, where the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation employs about 6,500 “team members” on its reservation and is regulated by the state, the employment application will not change, according to spokesman Ashley Polo.
“We do always encourage hiring qualified people with or without criminal records if the job fits,” Polo said.
‘A tap on the shoulder’
Kevin C. Barrs, chief public defender in New London Superior Court, has represented hundreds of people who could not find work because of their criminal records.
“I had a client who has multiple drug convictions on his record,” Barrs said. “He tried to make an honest go of it. He couldn’t because of his record. He went back to selling drugs and went to jail. He’s out again, trying to find work.”
Clients who resorted to lying on their applications to get hired have told Barrs of getting “a tap on the shoulder,” followed by termination after a couple of weeks on the job, when their new employer had received the results of a background check.
Those with criminal records often are forced to work off the books, or “under the table,” in construction, roofing, landscaping or washing dishes, he said. Most of the jobs don’t pay well and don’t offer benefits.
“They have to work long hours or multiple jobs just to make ends meet,” said Barrs, who thinks the new law is a good start.
Kwan Jenkins said he would be applying for a pardon once he gets off probation and finishes college and more time passes since his conviction.
“My personal take is that as much as I like the law, it looks good on paper but doesn’t stop employers from being discriminatory to people with felonies,” he said. “The question still comes up. These employers still want to do their background checks. When you try to tell them about the things you’ve done since the situation, they still don’t want to mess with this person.”
k.florin@theday.com
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(c)2017 The Day (New London, Conn.)