Move in L.A. to Ban the Box for Previous Convictions

Businesses that ask a job applicant about his or her criminal history during the hiring process could be fined and forced to pay the applicant up to $500 under a new law being considered by Los Angeles. A Los Angeles City Council committee backed a plan Tuesday to penalize businesses that weed out applicants based on criminal convictions. The rules are part of a law under consideration by the council aimed at giving former convicts a better shot at obtaining employment. The Ban the Box ordinance, approved in concept last year by the council, bans private employers with 10 or more workers from asking questions related to an applicant's criminal history before a conditional offer of employment has been made. Employers also have to strip criminal history questions from job applications under the proposed law. Exemptions for employers in the child care or law enforcement industry are allowed under the ordinance. Some Los Angeles business groups, including the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, oppose the proposed Los Angeles law. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld57EWswXmo

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Peter Mantius: Crestwood LPG won robo-approval - FOIL proves that there are no records showing that the Board of Regents has appointed a “state geologist” or “acting state geologist” since 2010

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FOCUS ON: NY Appellate Court Judge Thomas Dickerson

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WELCOME TO THE POLICE STATE: ‘Retaliation for use of the Open Records Act will inhibit every citizen from using it.’

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