Over the next couple of months, the city of Denton is seeking input from business owners and residents on a fair chance hiring ordinance that City Council will be voting on in January.
The city is hosting two in-person sessions, a town hall event and virtual meeting opportunities in October and November.
Fair-chance initiatives, also known as “ban the box,” gives job seekers with criminal records a better opportunity to get in front of employers for an interview to showcase why they are good candidates for the jobs in spite of their criminal records.
There are more than 9 million Texans with criminal records, according to the Texas Center for Justice and Equity.
They are part of what’s known as an “untapped talent pool” for the U.S. labor market, which the U.S. Chamber of Commerce reported in October has 9.6 million available jobs but only 6.4 million unemployed workers.
Creating a fair chance hiring ordinance in Denton would require businesses to remove the criminal background box to check on applications and wait until later in the hiring process to request the information.
The proposed ordinance will be part of the city’s nondiscrimination ordinance (NDO) and all administrative and enforcement provisions under the NDO would also apply to the new ordinance if passed.
City staff pointed out on the Discuss Denton platform that the proposed ordinance would prohibit employers from the following activities:
- Publishing information that states or implies that criminal history is an automatic disqualifier for employment
- Soliciting or otherwise inquiring about criminal history on a job application
- Soliciting criminal history information or considering criminal history prior to a conditional employment offer
- Refusing to consider an applicant because criminal history was not provided prior to a conditional employment offer
- Taking adverse action against an individual due to criminal history unless the individual is unsuitable for the job based on an individualized assessment
“Also similar to the NDO, if a federal or state government does not have jurisdiction, the city will investigate the complaint and determine if discrimination is likely to have occurred,” staff said on Discuss Denton.
“If discrimination is likely to occur, the city will work with the two parties to conciliate the complaint and, if a conciliation agreement cannot be met, the matter may be referred to the city prosecutor for review and possible issuance of a Class C misdemeanor citation.”
Thirty-seven states and 150 cities and counties have enacted fair-chance hiring policies as public employers, but only 15 states and 22 cities and counties have extended those policies to private employers, according to a staff presentation to council in November 2022.
Dallas County, for example, adopted a fair-chance hiring policy in 2015 for public employers who operate within the county for several reasons, including to create safer communities and reduce childhood poverty and recidivism.
In January 2022, DeSoto adopted a fair-chance hiring ordinance for businesses.
DeSoto Chamber of Commerce President Vanessa Sterling told council members in June that no issues have arisen and reminded them that the “ban the box” initiative doesn’t keep businesses from doing background checks.
In Denton, city staff have set up multiple opportunities for community engagement and feedback on whether council members should adopt a fair-chance hiring ordinance.
Community members can provide feedback via Discuss Denton and view a draft of the ordinance there.
A series of feedback sessions will also be offered and include a presentation and a Q&A session, according to an Oct. 16 press release.
Two in-person sessions, hosted by the Denton Chamber of Commerce, will take place at 4 p.m. Oct. 24 and 4 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Development Services Center.
An additional in-person town hall will occur at 6 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Development Services Center.
Virtual community meetings will also be hosted at 4 p.m. Nov. 2 and 6 p.m. Nov. 15. Registration is required to attend.
To register visit cityofdenton.com/virtualcommunitymeetings.