Warren Wright
Sub HB-56 Testimony
Ohio House Commerce and Labor Committee
June 23, 2015
Chairman Young and Commerce and Labor Committee Members:
Thanks for providing me the opportunity to speak to you about sub HB-56, the Ohio
Fair Hiring Act. My name is Warren Wright. I am the Diocesan Council President for
the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul in the Columbus Diocese. The Society of Saint
Vincent de Paul is a Catholic lay organization known primarily for providing
emergency assistance to needy members in our communities. We have over 3,000
Vincentians in 62 conferences throughout the Diocese. We visit those we serve in
their homes and hear their stories.
In addition to our charity work, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul supports
systemic change efforts to bring about justice for those we serve. For returning and
restored citizens, this includes efforts to bring about restorative justice, breaking
down barriers to obtaining good jobs, housing, and other necessities for living a fully
human life. Thus, we are in support of sub HB-56 and urge its passage. Banning
of the box on public sector employment applications is a step forward towards
restorative justice in the area of employment for returning and restored
citizens.
But it is not enough. We are disappointed that language from the original bill
addressing background checks (actually delaying them until after a conditional job
offer is made), and common sense measures to guide hiring managers after a
background check, has been removed. Why not let a person’s qualifications speak
for themselves in a job interview? Isn’t that what each of us expects? Why not
require an employer to document their analysis of the background check findings
and not discriminate if the findings are not relevant to the person’s ability to do the
job? How long will we let fear govern our policies and actions toward returning and
restored citizens? When will the punishment end, and restoration begin? Haven’t
most of us made mistakes, shown remorse, experienced forgiveness, and been
allowed to move on with our lives?
Two of the greatest figures in salvation history, Moses and King David, had criminal
backgrounds. Moses murdered an Egyptian in a fit of rage and had to flee. He
wound up leading God’s chosen people out of bondage to the brink of the Promised
Land. King David was an adulterer and an accessory to murder. After being warned
by Nathan, showing remorse and being punished, God continued to use him for
good. In every Our Father, we pray, “…. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on
earth as it is in heaven, ….” God is waiting for our returning and restored citizens to
be given opportunities they deserve to live more fully human lives.
I’d like to share a very personal story about a returning and restored citizen that I
know. Luther is now 30 years old. I met him when he was almost 7 years old. My
wife Joann was the social worker for his mother, who was dying of AIDS. After
Luther’s mom died, Joann completed bereavement counseling with Luther and his
brother and sister. Then, we mentored them for many years until moving to Ohio 12
years ago. We had them over to our home every weekend and did things with them
around the Baltimore/Washington area. They became part of our family and got to
know our two adopted kids in their early years. I helped Luther learn to drive. He
was an avid Dallas Cowboy fan and buckeye fan, even though he knew of my affinity
for the Notre dame Fighting Irish. He graduated from high school and immediately
went to work at the Washington Hospital Center in a low-paying job as an orderly
from Med-Flight to the operating room. He stayed committed to his job and was
able to live with his grandmother in their apartment in a crime-ridden public
housing building in inner city Washington, DC until she passed away a few years
ago.
About 2 years ago, Joann and I got word that Luther had been arrested and
convicted as an accessory to a drug deal. He had been harassed by an old “friend”
who said he wanted to buy drugs. The friend was giving information to police for
his own reduced sentence. Luther reportedly drove an undercover agent to a drug
deal. Of the 10 persons arrested and convicted in the deal, he was one of 4
sentenced to jail. The reported reason he served time was his refusal to act as an
informant on others. He said he didn’t want to destroy the lives of any more
families. An example was made of him. Luther told us he knows he did wrong. He is
now out of prison and working with a commercial cleaning company. He stays
committed to his job. His future ambition is to work again in a hospital setting to
help ill people. He wants the best for his family, which now includes his girlfriend
and a young son who was born while he was incarcerated. He has matured and
rehabilitated himself from his dysfunctional past.
Luther has definitely been a blessing in our lives. He was very fortunate to get a job
as he was exiting prison through a halfway house. All returning and restored
citizens like Luther deserve unencumbered second chances for the growth and
development of their lives.
Chairman Young and Commerce and Labor Committee members, thank you for your
committed service to our state and its citizens, including returning and restored
citizens. I’d like to end with a quote from the Gospel of Luke (6:31, 36-38):
Fixing his eyes on the disciples, Jesus said, “Treat others as you would like them to treat
you. Be compassionate, as your God is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not
be judged. Do not condemn others, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you
will be forgiven. Give, and there will be gifts for you – a full measure, pressed down,
shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap- because whatever
measure you use in dealing with others, will be measured to you in return.”