A new poll shows Michigan business owners strongly oppose legislation to prevent them from including a question about criminal convictions on job applications.
88% of Michigan business owners polled by the National Federation of Independent Business say they oppose the ‘Ban the Box’ bill.
Charlie Owens is the NFIB state director. He says it doesn’t make sense to wait until a job offer is made before being able to do a criminal background check.
“You’ve wasted the prospective employee’s time….you’ve wasted your time…not to mention the expense involved and you get to start over,” says Owens.
Critics say many employers won’t give prospective job applicants a chance if they see they have been convicted of a crime.
The ‘Ban the Box’ bill has been sitting in a state House committee for more than a year.
The business group supports a trio of bills that would give Michigan employers some liability protection for hiring a person with a criminal record.
