Commission tasks HR and legal to review local 'ban the box' policy after public comment

A public speaker, Lawrence Anthony Brandon, urged the Augusta City Commission on Jan. 27 to abolish the municipality's locally adopted "ban the box" hiring policy and proposed alternative measures including a five-year clean-history standard and upfront disclosure of automatic disqualifiers.

Brandon argued that, as implemented, the policy produces "false hope" for applicants and delays final hiring decisions until late in the process. "Why call an applicant all the way to the doorstep of employment only to slam the door in their face at the last minute?" he said during public comment.

Commissioners and the city's attorney discussed the legal and operational issues raised. Attorney J. Plunkett told the body that employment-law implications and potential litigation risks — for example, attempts to create a protected class for justice-impacted applicants — would require targeted legal review. Plunkett said the law department and HR could review how the current policy is implemented and whether alternatives would be lawful.

The commission voted unanimously to ask HR, the administrator's office and the law department to report back in 30 days with findings and recommendations.

The review will cover whether the policy should be changed or scrapped, whether up-front automatic disqualifiers could be listed in applications, and what, if any, litigation risks would accompany a change. The commission did not take any immediate policy vote on Jan. 27.