New Orleanians could have a chance this fall to expand the municipal bill of rights — by amending the home rule charter to prohibit any laws that arbitrarily and unreasonably discriminate against someone based on conviction history.
As was the case with a “workers’ bill of rights” added to the charter by ballot measure last year, this anti-discrimination measure would not be enforceable except when it also corresponds with state and federal laws.
An ordinance introduced by New Orleans Councilmember Oliver Thomas at a committee meeting Monday (April 7) would put that decision in the hands of voters for the Oct. 11, 2025 election. That ballot would also include mayoral and council races.
“I don’t understand why this hasn’t been done already,” Thomas said. “Democracy by subtraction can’t stand. This country won’t survive itself unless we start to give opportunity to people who pay their debt to society to contribute in a much bigger way.”
The proposal comes on the heels of a recent local election to include workers’ rights in the city charter. That ordinance, which was sponsored by Councilmember Helena Moreno, was overwhelmingly approved by voters last November. Organizers behind this new amendment hope they will find similar support from New Orleans voters.
“We’re asking to make formerly incarcerated people, people with a conviction history, a protected class in the city of New Orleans,” said Ronald Marshall, chief policy analyst at Voice of the Experienced.
Marshall and VOTE were among a cohort of organizations supporting formerly incarcerated people that backed the proposal at the meeting. Other groups, including The First 72+ and Women Determined, shared how discrimination had impacted them and the communities they serve. The measure’s proponents also argued that discrimination increases recidivism, endangers public safety and knee-caps economic growth.
“Protecting formerly incarcerated people protects public safety and increases economic growth,” Marshall said. He said that a criminal record increases the likelihood that a formerly incarcerated person will struggle to find both work and housing, especially with the rise of algorithmic screening services, which have been found to perpetuate discrimination.
Marshall argued that similar protections afforded to veterans and those with disabilities have increased employment and wages. He’s hoping for similar outcomes for those with a conviction history.
While Council President JP Morrell expressed his support for the amendment to the municipal bill of rights, he cautioned against overpromising what the amendment could deliver.
“When we amend the charter, that affects the city, not private industries,” Morrell said. “The problem we have is that even if we as a city recognize the formerly incarcerated as a protected class, that only applies to us. Now, that being said, we as a city should lead by example.”
The city already has some measures in place to mitigate discrimination against formerly incarcerated people. In 2018, the New Orleans City Council passed a “Ban the Box” ordinance, prohibiting the city and its contractors from asking potential employees to provide criminal history on their initial job applications. However, that ordinance does not prevent the city from eventually conducting background checks before making final hiring decisions, and the city is still allowed to deny someone employment based on relevant information, like the seriousness or recency of a past conviction.
Rhonda Oliver, who founded Women Determined to serve formerly incarcerated women, testified that she faced discrimination after more than eight years as a city employee with the Department of Code Enforcement when she transferred into a new role in the Department of Finance. After a one-year probationary period, she was terminated. Oliver alleges that this is because of her conviction history. Oliver has challenged her firing and a subsequent Civil Service Commission decision in court.
“The policy tells you exactly what needs to be done, and it says that if you have been pardoned by the state of Louisiana, you shouldn’t have any problems,” Oliver said. “However, I’m having a problem landing these jobs. And the only thing that’s stopping me – because I know that I am among the best and the brightest – is that I am a formerly incarcerated person. So, the ‘ban the box’ policy is not working.”
“Your case represents the fundamental failure of ‘ban the box,’” Morrell said in response.
The proposal should go to the full City Council later this month. If passed by the full council, it will appear on the Oct. 11 ballot citywide.