The city council held a hearing on Monday to discuss what the city and advocacy groups are doing to provide support and job opportunities to people with criminal convictions.
But councilors also asked officials of Mayor Michelle Wu’s administration questions about how the city screens job applicants, and balances supporting people exiting the criminal justice system while also maintaining high standards for public services and community safety.
The hearing comes in the wake of two recent situations involving city employees with criminal records — one of whom was arrested after a dramatic confrontation with a state trooper, and another whose employment with the city ended after the Boston Herald reported the worker was a Level Three sex offender.
Both individuals no longer work for the city, a spokesperson for the mayor’s office confirmed Monday.
Alex Lawrence, the city’s chief people officer, told the council Monday that the city does not run background checks for every single position it hires for. Broadly, the city only review applicants’ criminal records if the job responsibilities explicitly include interacting with the public while unsupervised, or interacting with vulnerable populations, such as children, she said.
“Sometimes the sort of details of those job descriptions have not always been 100 percent right,“ Lawrence acknowledged, adding that the city is ”reviewing our job descriptions to determine which kinds of background checks should apply to which kinds of positions.”
Lawrence also emphasized the work the city has already done to improve its hiring processes in recent years, including implementing more training for hiring managers, and creating a team that investigates workplace incidents.
“We hold all of our employees to a really high standard of conduct, including when we hire them and once they’re here,” Lawrence said. “We also seek, as an organization, to ensure that … individuals with criminal records are able to find gainful employment, and so our policies and procedures strive to hit that balance.”
José Massó, the city’s chief of human services, emphasized the many challenges and barriers people with criminal convictions face when they try to return to the workforce after exiting the criminal justice system.
He touted the work of the city’s office of returning citizens, which his department oversees.
“As someone who believes deeply in second chances and in the need to invest in returning citizens so we can break the cycle of recidivism, I am proud of the work the [office of returning citizens] team does every day,” Massó said. “They have built strong pipelines to employment, and have advocated with businesses to overcome stigma and see the value of hiring individuals with [criminal records].”
But Councilor Ed Flynn expressed deep concern that the city hired a Level Three sex offender to work in the parks and recreation department, which the Boston Herald reported last month.
The state’s Sex Offender Registry Board shows the 37-year-old man had two convictions of indecent assault and battery of a child under 14 years old in 2013.
The city’s payroll records show the man worked as a heavy motor equipment operator and laborer for the city’s parks and recreation department in 2024, and was paid just under $20,000. A city spokesperson said the man’s employment with the city ended on August 12.
On Monday, Flynn emphasized his experience working as a probation officer and his support for returning citizens. But he also advocated for a blanket policy that would ban people with specific criminal convictions from getting a job in Boston Public Schools, the city’s youth and families department, or the parks and recreation department.
(The city’s policy on hiring people with criminal records already does not apply to BPS, the police department, or the city’s quasi-governmental agencies like the public health commission or the housing authority.)
“Why take that chance, knowing that they’re going to be interacting somehow or [in] close proximity, to students, to youth, to playgrounds where children gather?” Flynn said. “Why just not universally say Level Three sex offenders cannot work at these particular departments?”
Lou Mandarini, a senior advisor to the mayor on labor issues, cautioned against implementing any broad policy across the board, and said there’s a lot of nuance and questions to consider when hiring people with criminal records.
“What was the age of the person at the time of the conviction? How serious was it? How much time has elapsed since the conviction? Is there any relevance to the position sought? … Does the person have pending charges?” Mandarini said, providing examples of context the city tries to keep in mind. “These are the things we need to look at, and it’s a matter of using a scalpel instead of an ax.”
Several advocates who work on criminal justice issues and reform also testified before the council , and emphasized the importance of treating people as individuals, rather than adopting black or white policies.
“What I would say really indicates whether or not someone will reoffend or recidivate is going to be the access for opportunity that they have, and employment is a very critical one of those,” said Aaryn Manning, executive director of the social services organization Project Place.
“If doors are constantly being closed for them, if they do not have access to stable housing, and if they are not able to be financially independent, what kind of message are we sending them?” she continued. “They’ve returned to the community, and they should be able to have that second chance.”