Princeton Mayor To Christie: Give Everyone Fair Opportunity To Compete For Work

Mayors from across the state will gather in Princeton Wednesday to express their enthusiastic support for the New Jersey Opportunity to Compete Act, and to call on Gov. Christie to "complete" it.

The mayors, who will meet at the Princeton Library, say the legislation should be given its due given the governor‟s public statement on April 18 that he is working with the legislative sponsors on this bill, with a vote anticipated in June.

Under the measure, employers would be barred from conducting a criminal background check on candidates during the interview process. Only after an employer has judged an applicant qualified and extended a conditional offer of employment can the check be conducted, according to NJ.com.

But the employer would still need to get the applicant’s consent and give written notice, both of the intention to conduct the check and of the applicants’ rights, according to NJ.com.

Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert will speak to the wide ranging impact of overly broad criminal record screening policies.

“Like every other community, Princeton has residents who have been convicted of crimes and have paid their debt to society," she said. "Sometimes young people can get into trouble, and unfortunately in the eyes of many employers, the record looms larger than the degree.” 

Fanwood Mayor Colleen Mahr agreed. “It used to be that if a neighborhood kid broke a window, the cop would bring the kid to his parents and they worked out a plan for the kid to repay the cost of the window. Today, we slap the kid with a criminal mischief charge and just like that he‟s a felon.”

Lempert has emphasized the importance of the provisions in the bill that address how employers should treat older records. “Even when folks do get an interview, we know that some employers reject applicants for non-violent convictions that are 20 years old. Once you have gone ten years from release without getting into trouble again, you are a different person. Ten or 15-year-old, non-violent convictions shouldn't make someone unemployable.”