Ban-the-box policy to hire ex-inmates is gaining backers
Jordan Abdullah checked the box. Again and again on job searches after he left prison in 2015, the ex-felon marked the space where job applications ask about whether he had a criminal history.
Eventually, tired of getting turned down, Abdullah, 24, said he lied about his criminal record, only to be fired when an employer found out.
“A lot of people don’t really want to risk hiring someone like me,” said Abdullah, who served time for armed assault.
In Abdullah’s account of his crime, he saw a man beating a child in 2013 and intervened. The situation escalated into a brawl, a gun was involved, and the man was shot in the leg. He says now he should have just called the police. Abdullah served his time and finally, after finding an employer who willing to give him a chance, Abdullah is an ironworkers apprentice helping to build the new Little Caesars Arena for the Red Wings in Detroit.
Read more: http://bridgemi.com/2017/01/ban-the-box-policy-to-hire-ex-inmates-is-gaining-backers/
