Home access businesses; owner/operator thereof to conduct criminal background check of employees. (HB1582)

Introduced By

Del. Algie Howell (D-Norfolk)

Progress

Introduced
Passed Committee
Passed House
Passed Senate
Signed by Governor
Became Law

Description

Employees of home access businesses; penalty. Requires the owner or operator of a commercial establishment that provides a service that requires the establishment's employees regularly to enter the interior area of the residence of its customers to conduct a criminal background check of employees whose regular duties can reasonably be expected to require entering the interior area of the residence of its customers. Effective September 1, 2009, employers are prohibited from employing an employee unless the employer has found, upon completion of a criminal records check, that the employee has not been convicted of any felony. Employers are required to keep copies of the fingerprints and records check for such employees. Employers shall provide identification badges to employees and require the employees to wear the badge when they are expected to enter customers' homes. Violations constitute a Class 3 misdemeanor. Read the Bill »

Outcome

Bill Has Failed

History

DateAction
08/05/2008Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/14/09 089761540
08/05/2008Committee
08/05/2008Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/14/09 090014540
08/05/2008Referred to Committee on Militia, Police and Public Safety
01/20/2009Impact statement from DPB (HB1582)
01/20/2009Assigned MPPS sub: #2
02/10/2009Left in Militia, Police and Public Safety

Comments

Bill Twine writes:

What's driving this proposed bill? In all my 25 years of assisting ex offenders obtain employment I have only had one incident of an ex offender breaching the confidence of a customer. A jar of pennies was taken from a house he was servicing. He was promptly fired. A rare misdead should not reflect negatively on the overall good that is accomplished by the overwhelming majority.

L.L. writes:

Oh my goodness! My toilet will never get fixed again!

Interesting bill given the fact that the DOC provides training to inmates in many of the occupations covered by this bill - plumbing, electrical, ac/heat, carpentry, roofing, etc. So, we lock these people up, tell them to learn a trade, TEACH them that trade, and then create a law to prevent them from doing it.

Just what, exactly, do we expect former offenders to do with their lives (while remaining crime-free, of course)? I guess they can still dig ditches and hold flags for traffic ... at least for now ...

Lauren Yoder writes:

What, the flagman down the street might be a felon. Help Help LOL You know, if the felons would have followed the law in the first place they wouldn't be felons. What makes anyone think they will follow the new law.

Blue Ridge writes:

Isn't this the delegate who gave us the "Droopy Drawers" bill?

I can see prohibiting sexual offenders from working in homes, but ALL felons? How are they going to rehabilitate without access to decent jobs?

L.L. writes:

Why? Don't sex offenders need jobs? Are their families somehow magically provided for? Should kids convicted at age 18 or 19 for having sex with an underage girl or having a nude picture of a 17 year old girl be prohibited from ever having a trade job? Heaven knows they can't get any other kind of job.

Maybe rapists or others who used violence in sexual crimes, but all sex offenders? Really, the recidivism rate for sex offenders is lower than for ALL offenders other than murderers. Maybe it's OTHER offenders (thieves, those with a history of serious assault, etc) who should be banned ... No, THEY deserve a second chance and a "decent job", don't they?

Please.

Jeff writes:

My father owns a business cleaning out foreclosures. I am employed by him. I am about to get married and depend highly on this job to support myself and my soon to be wife. Noone lives in these houses, but I'm not sure if that matters. I've done everything I can to live a healthy, clean life. Let's encourage good behavior, not punish it! What is happening here? Why are people out to contunue to make life more difficult for those who have a felony (specifically sexual offenses)? Please, do not pass this!

Chip writes:

This is just another piece of legislation that serves no other purpose than to make it impossible for EX Offenders to re-integrate into society. When will people wake up and learn to think for themselves instead of relying on the One-Eyed Babysitter to tell them how to think?

Brandon Patterson writes:

Del. Howell has rewritten the bill so that provisions for prohibiting ex-offenders from home access employment are removed. While this is an improvement, the attitudes it engenders are troubling in regard to ex-offender reentry; it also seems to unfairly burden potential employees with fees, put businesses in the role of Big Brother, and according to the State Police, contains stipulations that are illegal under federal law.

Brandon Patterson
Virginia CARES, Inc.

L.L. writes:

This bill presents an interesting conflict with others proposed this session that would prohibit employers from even ASKING about offenses committed in the last 8 years. Either we're trying to assist ex-offenders in their reintegration into communities or we're trying to make that reintegration impossible. What lawmakers decide on these conflicting bills will be a significant indication of Virginia's commitment to helping ex-offenders be successful in society.

Traci writes:

This will cause a huge strain on small business owners with extra costs to deal with record keeping.