NAACP Ban The Box - And Response

  • Wednesday, January 28, 2015

The Chattanooga-Hamilton County NAACP would like to take this opportunity to inform the community at-large of our continued efforts in advocating for a fair chance at a second chance, simply referred to as Ban the Box. Our office, through our Committee on Justice, has received new and relevant information on this front at both the national and state levels. Nationally, organizations such as the National Employment Law Project  have conveyed to us that as it now stands, more than 100 jurisdictions, including 96 cities, 13 States, and the District of Columbia, have enacted fair and second chance measures in order to expand the employment opportunities for all.

Tennessee, as a State, is slowly joining this national trend. In order to alleviate the questions and concerns many employers across the State have attributed to the hiring of  ex-offenders, the Tennessee Negligent Hiring and Retention Act (2014) was voted upon by the Legislature and signed into law in June of 2014, and as of January 1st, 2015, the Tennessee  Negligent Hiring and Retention Act fully took effect. Among other elements, the law seeks to provide safeguards and other employer liability protections when prospective candidates are identified. A second primary objective of the act is to encourage ex-offenders to actively seek out gainful employment. Career and job readiness programs that can certify that a potential employee is ready and equipped to fulfill all the requirements associated with the job and performance tasks at hand is another protection included in this important peace of legislation. 

The goal of the community as a whole should be to build communities that are more liveable, viable and sustainable, but that can't be achieved if a significant portion of the community is relegated to such a meager and  mediocre social and economic state that renders them as a forgotten and forlorn class of citizens that is under-worked, under-classed, under-privileged, and under-served.  Through economic vibrancy and vitality, we can aide and assist them as they strive to come out of the murky darkness and into the marvelous light. We can eradicate many of the negative stigmas experienced by ex-offenders as they strive to repair broken lives and rebuild broken dreams by planting seeds of hope. 

One the most favored mantras used to tout Chattanooga and our region both nationally and globally is that we believe we are one of America's top 100 cities. If that is true, then we must look to the standard that has been established by the more than 100 jurisdictions, which includes 96 cities and counties, 13 States, and the District of Columbia, and do all in our ability to remove this disparate impact. We look forward to continue to work with our elected officials and all interested parties in finding a meaningful solution to this issue that may bring about lasting change as we seek out common ground that will lead to higher ground and begin to balance the great scales of justice for us all. And if we do this we will affirm what the opening lines of the Constitution urges us to do, promote the general welfare in order to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and for our children. 

Respectfully, Chattanooga Hamilton NAACP
Elenora Woods President and Committee on Justice 

* * *  

Pardon, but…. 

This proposed legislation that I’m asking about, “Ban the Box” has been on the table for the better part of a year. Your last article credits the Employer Retention bill as progress, after making mention of ‘Ban the Box’ for all of two lines. 

I wanted to know about ‘Ban the Box’ itself. Would you care to inform the Chattanooga community of when you feel that ‘Ban the Box’ might be written into law? I mean when it’s actionable, like in Memphis. 

Many of us college-educated, generally law-abiding citizens have had the misfortune to have acquired a non-expungable misdemeanor, or we have family members who cannot be employed due to prior ‘criminal’ histories who are now a burden, and often this discrimination lasts for years (possibly, in some instances, a lifetime). 

I’ve learned not to expect much from the media these days, but I’d like more than a glorified essay on this, and hope you have the integrity to let at least some of us know what else to actually expect, and when. 

I’m talking about the actual removal of the criminal history section from job applications, by the way. Just so there’s no confusion. 

And I’d like to think that Chattanooga is growing economically, and societally….in this regard. 

I look forward to hearing from you on any actual progress being made on this issue. 

Prospective dates please, at least down to seasons if you can’t give me months (example: summer, fall, winter, spring next year?) 

If not, I’ll continue to ask around. You know I’ve got nothing but time on this, being unemployed myself and re-attending school. 

Nick Woodley

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