If Bill Becomes Law You Can Cross Delivery Driver Off the List of Job Options
Florida Rep. Mike Caruso, yesterday filed House Bill 1129, that would require all home-delivery workers to undergo background checks that include the sex offender registry and would make any home delivery jobs off limits to anyone on the registry.
https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2020/1129/BillText/Filed/PDF
More to come from our legislative committee, but we will naturally take all steps to oppose this Bill.
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This bill would also prohibit persons with non-sexual convictions of specified felonies from entering the customer’s home as well.
“prohibiting a home delivery service provider from entering the home of or being unsupervised with a consumer upon the conviction, or any other adjudication, of specified crimes;”
This bill seems to be narrowly focused on home appliance/furniture companies.
“‘Home delivery service’ means the loading, transportation or shipment, and unloading of household goods, when the transportation or shipment originates from a factory, store, or other place of business and terminates within a consumer’s home….The term does not include a postal, courier, envelope, or package service.”
Although, I see no language that prohibits employment of individuals convicted of the specified sexual and non-sexual felonies, (please correct me if I’m in error) the effect will be to discourage the employer from hiring such individuals.
JZ – after further reading – you are correct. I’ll edit.
Is there an address or contact info to contact caruso? Can you post it here by any chance and I will write to him, thank you.
Seriously? My business is in Florida and our friends and family are here but it’s not enough to keep us going if my husband can’t work. We’re so far past the point of ridiculous that you can’t even look behind you and see sanity. What are we supposed to do? I’m usually a pretty positive person but this just gets more hopeless every single day. And because of the change in our circumstances we can’t even afford to move, and are too old to start over again.
This is merely an attempt by the government to formalize that which is already a reality for those of us on the registry. Legal or not, preliminary Google “background checks” are the way things are done nowadays. That is why most of the time, you never hear a word back when you apply for a job no matter how qualified or overqualified you might be.
Remember, it’s not punishment.
Words of wisdom to our dear legislators… When you push an otherwise non aggressive animal into a corner, they tend to bite. Careful of how much you take away from an individual.
This proposed bill is beyond moronic!
In early 2018, Jorge Dupre Lachazo was arrested after allegedly stealing a cellphone. Prosecutors initially charged him with a felony, but that was reduced to a misdemeanor. After completing a pre-trial diversion program, the misdemeanor petit theft was wiped from his record.
So just on the one-in-a-million chance that someone who stole a cellphone (and had it reduced to a misdemenour/jail-diversion) would go on, months later, to become a sudden, violent murderer, we, the people, should exclude anyone with a conviction in their past from working as a delivery driver?????
PS: They didn’t even list SS 800.04 as a qualifying offence (unless I misread the proposal). WTF?????
So … with all due respect Rep. Caruso… get an education. This is absolutely absurd. Why don’t we take a real deep dive into policies which make our communities safer. Let’s STOP knee jerk reactions to our own nightmares and dream stuff up to be hurtful. Stick to fact, this population is the least likely to reoffend, check the research. People who have community and family support are most likely to succeed as law abiding, contributing members of society. Dignity is a human right. If we strip anyone of theirs basic human rights, including their dignity, as we make it ever more impossible for people to move forward after paying their debts to society and then want to punish them for failing. Who are we? What are we thinking. Rep. Caruso, what are you really attempting to fix? Or are you just creating a problem that doesn’t exist? What has motivated you to write this particular bill? There is so much good work that can be done. Seriously?
Thank you, Gail.
Incidentally, the Bill is named “The Evy Udell Public Safety Act”. Evy Udell was a 75-year-old Boca woman who was tragically killed by a man who was delivering and installing a washer and dryer she bought at Best Buy. Her killer, Jorge Dupre Lachazo had no other criminal record than a misdemeanor for stealing a cell phone. According to CBS affiliate (https://miami.cbslocal.com/2019/08/21/hialeah-man-jail-deadly-attack-elderly-boca-raton-woman/) his background check came up clean.
Just like the registry would have done nothing to prevent Lauren Book’s tragic abuse, the Evy Udell Public Safety act would have done absolutely nothing to have prevented the heinous tragedy that befell Edy Udell.
The Evy Udell Public Safety Act would not have protected Evy Udell
We all need to repeat that to our representatives and others who may be speaking to them.
I see that it is not targeted at registrants specifically but all felons plus certain misdemeanors. So other relevant advocacy groups need to be aware and involved.
Deliveries are going to become more costly, but at least more former felons will be unemployed.
I am sure that if this Bill passes, in a year or so they will amend it to exclude all convictions with the exception of sex crimes.