LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - The Nebraska Legislature is set to take a final vote on a measure aimed at helping ex-convicts find jobs, after lawmakers voted Tuesday to allow schools - but not prospective employers - to ask about certain aspects of an applicant’s criminal history.
The proposal, which is part of a prison reform bill that won second-round approval Tuesday, would prevent public employers from asking about a job hopeful’s criminal history when they first apply. The amendment allows schools to ask about any criminal infractions related to sexual or physical abuse. Supporters say nothing stops the schools from doing the background checks, but some lawmakers had concerns about student safety.
Sen. Bill Avery of Lincoln, who sponsored the measure initially, said he would prefer not to see any exemptions. The measure already included a full exemption for law enforcement.
“If we exempt these school districts, we really don’t have ’ban the box’ anymore because they are such a large employer in the public sector,” he said.
Sen. Russ Karpisek of Wilber said he had a problem with schools only being able to ask about sexual or physical abuse. What about drugs, he asked.
“If these people are not going to get the job in the very first place, why not ask it right away and be up front and not waste their time or the schools’ time?” he asked.
There is nothing that prevents a public employer from conducting a criminal background check, Avery said, but it’s a matter of when it is conducted. The measure would let the check come later after the applicant has a chance to establish their credentials, he said.
The measure is included in the state’s prison reform effort that aim to reduce the inmate population by providing more services to those behind bars and diverting nonviolent offenders from the Department of Corrections. As of March 31, the state’s prisons were at 155 percent of capacity.
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The bill is LB907
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