By State Representative, Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
There was a time, in a land long ago and far, far away, when an individual committed a crime he or she went to jail and did their time. Upon being released, it was believed that society’s debt had been repaid, and individual would then be permitted to go on with their life unfettered from government intrusion or dictate.
Now, let’s fast forward to the current political thinking and mind set in Madison under this Republican-controlled Legislature. There is now a draconian piece of legislation in circulation, Senate Bill 207, and its companion Assembly Bill 286, that gives employers the legal authority to refuse, bar, or terminate from employment an individual who has been convicted of a felony, but not pardoned for the offense.
The second component of this misguided initiative preempts local units of government from adopting their own fair employment safeguards. Hence, local units of government would be subject to the new state standard, as proposed by this bill, and their local control on this particular issue negated.
Both versions of this bill have received public hearings and executive action taken in both Houses. This means that either SB 207 or AB 286 could be scheduled for floor debate the next time the Legislature is in session.
This legislation, if enacted, would have a chilling impact, and could bar unpardoned felons from having the ability to earn a lawful living. Moreover, it completely guts Wisconsin ’s Fair Employment Law, which has served this state well for over four decades. Under current law, an employer can only consider the conviction record of an unpardoned felon, if there is a “substantial relationship” between the felony offense and the employment position that the individual is applying for.
Whatever happened to the sage notion of having paid your debt to society or the idea of having been rehabilitated, as a result of incarceration? It’s completely unfair to set people for failure, by severely limiting their ability to be hired because of a felony conviction.
Wisconsin already has the dubious distinction of having the highest incarceration rate for African-American males in the nation. Unfortunately, this mean-spirited measure will only add this already-alarming disparity in our state.