Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum is praising the city’s manager for adopting a “drop the box” policy. The move will allow prospective employees to fill out applications without having to immediately disclose whether they’ve been convicted of a misdemeanor or felony.
According to the mayor’s spokesman, about half of employers around the country won’t considering hiring an employee after learning he or she has a criminal history. The idea behind the drop the box initiative is to judge applicants on their skills first. Employers would conduct background checks or ask questions about a criminal history during the final stages of the interview process instead. Tallahassee citizens seeking public safety positions will still find the question on their applications.
