Every county employee in Leon County, Florida has gone through a criminal background check prior to employment, but a recent review of the background checks has revealed a high number of criminal offences in currently hired employees. About one in every six employees in Leon County has an arrest record or felony charge. This statistic is known because all of these employees had a background check done during the hiring process and were still hired by the county despite the records. One man, Curtis Walker, was charged in August of this year with possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. He is currently out of jail on bond, but is still working for the county.
Over 700 employees of Leon County had their background checks reviewed, and around 5% of the employees have felony arrest records; another 17.5% have a record of various types of other criminal activity. Debbie Spitler, who owns her own employment agency, was brought in to consult on the background checks that were reviewed. She says that in her opinion and with her experience, it would be very difficult to place some of the current employees with a job because of their criminal records.
Background checks have been conducted by the county since 2003, and the county has maintained that they follow all federal laws when they have employees undergo background checks. The county also says that they look at the nature of the crime and how many years have passed since the crime was committed. This seems like a reasonable way to handle criminal records that show up on background checks, but what about cases like Curtis Walker who have very current criminal records and are still employed by the county? Background checks do not always mean that a company or agency will use the information to choose their employees wisely. Even if Leon County is complying with federal law and is requiring their applicants to undergo comprehensive criminal background checks, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are using the information on the background checks to weed out unfit employees. One the other hand, perhaps they are giving people a much needed second chance.
It seems a little unfair however, that people with multiple arrest or even felony records can find a good job while people like Lashonda Owens, a registered nurse with a squeaky clean record, are unable to find a job anywhere. Owens says that she doesn’t understand why no one wants to hire her even though she is licensed and has a clean background. She believes that people deserve a second chance, but she also needs a job so that she can support herself. One of the most common criminal charges that showed up in the county employee’s background checks was fraud. One county employee has faced over 57 counts of check fraud since 1990, and has a felony charge that is as recent as 2007. This type of criminal activity is some of the mildest that can be found in Leon County employees. It is shocking to those who conducted the review, and many would like to see a change in the hiring process so that the county actually takes into consideration the serious offences of their employees.
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