Latimer (podium): “… a second chance …”
OSSINING – Effective immediately, persons applying for jobs in Westchester County Government will not have to check off a box asking if they have been convicted of a crime.
County Executive George Latimer signed “the Fair Chance to Work” executive order on Monday outside the Ossining offices of Hudson Link for Higher Education.
Its executive director, Sean Pica, spent half of his life in prison, and said the new county order is a god-sent for formerly incarcerated people.
“We are now working in six prisons so that when these men and women return back to the community, they are educated and they are ready for a second chance, Pica said. “They are brilliant in the workplace; it has been unbelievably to partner legislatively, but also in the workplace with all the folks that are making this happen.”
Legislature Majority Leader Catherine Borgia said fellow lawmaker Alfreda Williams and she are drafting legislation to ban the box permanently.
The Westchester Board of Legislators Monday night also passed a measure to combat gender pay inequity and help job seekers who may have been downsized or may be returning to work after a long time.
The new law will bar businesses in the county from asking about a job seeker’s previous salary history as a requirement in a job application or interview.
