Atlanta Enacts Law to Protect People with Criminal Records from Employment Discrimination

From [HERE] The city of Atlanta has designated formerly incarcerated people a protected class, granting them legal protection from discrimination.

The city council unanimously voted in favor of the measure on Oct. 17. Advocates and those impacted said it could remove economic barriers for thousands of people, many of who are Black, and decrease recidivism.

“With this vote, the City of Atlanta is taking the first step in recognizing that we all are human beings,” Bridgette Simpson of Barred Business said in a statement. “Formerly incarcerated people have the right to move on from the sentences we served and should be able to access things like housing, employment and other basic needs that are essential for all people to live safely in this society.”

Atlanta Councilman Matt Westmoreland, one of the measure’s sponsors, said it was a request of residents who say they have been unfairly treated because of their criminal history.

The adopted ordinance bars businesses within Atlanta from denying formerly incarcerated people jobs or housing solely because of their criminal record.

The ordinance says: “any adverse hiring decisions based on criminal history must be based on how the criminal history relates to the position’s responsibilities in accordance with the following considerations: 1) whether the applicant committed the offense; 2) the nature and gravity of the offense; 3) the time since the offense; and 4) the nature of the job for which the applicant has applied.” [MORE]