Connecticut Post

Lawyer: Can't bar felons from civil jobs

By AARON LEO
Friday, August 13, 2004 -

BRIDGEPORT - State law bars municipalities from imposing a ban on hiring felons solely because of their criminal records, according to the lawyer for a city firefighter candidate with a felony conviction on his record.

Two candidates for city firefighter have felony convictions.

Earl King Jr. served several months in federal prison for bagging crack cocaine for the Peeler drug gang. Edward Valderrama has a felony conviction of an undisclosed nature. Valderrama declined comment on the advice of his lawyer.

King is ranked 16th on the city's firefighter hiring list, and Valderrama is ranked 91st. The Civil Service Commission placed them on the list despite a civil service guideline barring hiring of felons. The commission is reviewing its decision.

The city has not hired new firefighters from the hiring list.

In spite of the Civil Service Commission's informal guideline, the city itself does not specifically bar felons from civil service jobs.

King's lawyer, Susan Wallace, said the commission is trying to remove her client from the list based only on his conviction, in violation of state discrimination laws. She spoke to a reporter at the commission's meeting Tuesday, while the panel was in closed session.

The law allows employers to deny employment to convicted felons only after considering the type of crime and its relationship to the job requirements, as well as how long ago the conviction occurred and the degree of rehabilitation.

The issue attracted the attentions of state Sen. Ernest E. Newton II and Rep. Charles D. Clemons Jr., both D-Bridgeport, who supported the candidates.

"There's only one judge. We know who that is

God," Clemons, a retired city firefighter, said before the meeting.

Newton said, "You can't be rehabilitated if you can't get a job.

"Should you be denied employment opportunities for the rest of the rest of your life [because of a felony conviction]?"

Minority city firefighters groups also support Valderrama and King.

But Fire Chief Michael Maglione said before the meeting that convicted felons cannot be trusted in the Fire Department.

"There is a level of trust that is an essential part of the whole thing," he said. "Firefighters go into people's homes."

He argued that even if the conviction occurred years ago and the candidates have not backslid, they "forfeited [their] opportunity to work in emergency public services."

On Tuesday, the commission again reviewed Valderrama's case in closed session and tabled it until September's meeting.

King's case, which the commission did not discuss Tuesday, will continue at October's meeting.

A city councilman recently proposed an ordinance banning people with violent felony convictions from working in civil service jobs.

Wallace called the term "convicted felon" misleading and stigmatizing.

A felony is a charge

not necessarily violent

that carries a prison term of at least a year upon conviction, she said.

Aaron Leo, who covers regional issues, can be reached at 330-6222.