Fort Myers considers banning criminal conviction box on job applications

FORT MYERS, Fla.- City leaders are moving forward with a plan to get rid of a box that asks job applicants if they’ve ever been convicted of a felony.

Anyone that applies for a job with the City of Fort Myers runs into the box. You have to check it, if you’ve been convicted of a crime, other than a minor traffic violation. Below that box, you can explain how and when the conviction occurred.

Checking the box does not automatically knock you out of job consideration, but it does immediately alert human resources to do a background check.

Recently-elected Council Member Terolyn Watson is leading the drive to ban the box.

“It’s going to give everyone equal opportunity to apply for a job,” said Watson.

Fort Myers says at least 13 states and 11 major cities have banned the box. Six of seven council members attended a workshop Monday afternoon, and all six indicate they believe the box must go.

“That fear of saying, ‘I’m not even going to try because I know they’re not going to hire me,'” said Council Member Teresa Watkins Brown.
Human resources says, if the box goes, it can check a person’s criminal history, later in the hiring process. The city cannot say how many current employees, have criminal records.