The only time a criminal history box will be required is for positions that mandate a pre-employment background check. The measure took effect August 1. “Once a job is offered, everyone will be asked to sign a consent form for a basic background to be conducted,” says Lori Taylor, deputy director of human resources. “If something comes up, we will look at the crime to see when it was committed and if it’s directly related to the job being sought.”
Oakland County Commissioner Nancy Quarles, who sponsored the resolution, saw it “as a fairness opportunity for those who have served their time for a crime or incident they were involved in... From the research I’ve done, people tend to return to crime and jail because they aren’t able to find a job,” Quarles said.