Fair Chance Hiring

The City-State Fight Continues In The 2019 Legislative Session. Here Are Bills To Look Out For.

By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Dec 20, 2018

When the Texas Legislature reconvenes Jan. 8, lawmakers will already have on their desks bills aimed at undoing City of Austin rules.

The city-state conflict is nothing new. Last time they met in 2017, state lawmakers passed bills overturning Austin ordinances affecting ride-hailing companies, like Uber and Lyft, and passed a "sanctuary cities" bill.

Austin May Be Getting A New Department To Oversee Labor Rights Laws

By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Jun 28, 2018

Austin City Council members voted Thursday to ask the city manager to look into creating a new department to oversee its labor rights laws – including rules that guarantee rest breaks for construction workers and mandate paid sick leave for private employees.

Without Final Rules In Place, Austin Closes Two Fair Chance Hiring Complaints

By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Apr 19, 2018

When Lewis Conway Jr. was released from prison in 2000 after serving time for manslaughter, the state required him to wear an electronic monitoring device. But nothing fit his ankles.

“So they put the electronic monitor on my wrist,” said Conway, who works on criminal justice issues for the nonprofit Grassroots Leadership. “It was about the size of a baby car on my wrist.”

Austin Law Requires Jobseekers With Criminal Pasts Get A Fair Shot. But It's Not Being Enforced.

By Audrey McGlinchy, KUT • Mar 8, 2018

When Lauren Johnson started job-hunting in the early 1990s, she walked from business to business filling out applications by hand. “It’ll be so much easier someday when this is all computerized,” she remembers thinking.