OHIO JUSTICE & POLICY CENTER

Reclaiming Lives. Renewing Communities. Restoring Justice.

215 East Ninth Street, Suite 601 David: 421-1108 ext. 17 Stephen: 421-1108 ext. 14
Cincinnati, OH 45202 dsingleton@ohiojpc.org sjohnsongrove@ohiojpc.org

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To: Mayor Mark Mallory & the Cincinnati City Council
From: David Singleton & Stephen JohnsonGrove
Date: June 11, 2009
Re: Gene Mays, the City’s hiring policy, and what to do about it
Yesterday, June 10th, City Manager Milton Dohoney issued a report to City Council attempting to
demonstrate that the City of Cincinnati does not have a blanket policy of excluding people with felony
records. While our office is convinced that such a policy was applied in our client’s, Gene Mays’, case (see
below), the most important thing now is for all city leaders to come together and support the Civil Service
Commission in making some common-sense, best-practice reforms to the city’s hiring policy. Regardless of
whether the city believes that it applied a blanket no-felon rule, these policy changes will benefit the entire
city and need to be made now.
Gene Mays’ story
High school (1978-1982): Star athlete at Woodward H.S. in Cincinnati. Kicked off basketball team
senior year for marijuana use. Still graduates in top ten of his class.
College (1982-1984): Getting kicked off basketball team in high school ruins his basketball
scholarship hopes. Still attends University of Cincinnati for one year and the Wilberforce University
for another year and a half, but begins using harder drugs. Drops out of school.
Addiction (1984-1997): Crack cocaine addiction. Picks up two felonies: drug trafficking (1988) and
drug abuse (1994). Three-year prison term after first felony (1989-1991). After release, in his words,
he was “still incarcerated in a four-block radius downtown—using drugs and doing whatever it took
to get drugs.” Last contact with the criminal justice system was the second felony in 1994 (15
years ago). He was sentenced to treatment at Talbert House after this felony conviction. He says
“the seeds of recovery were planted in that program” but he continued to use.
Recovery & Rehabilitation (1997-Today): On a rainy night in October 1997, thinking of his then-
fiancée and 1-year-old son, he hits rock bottom and reaches out to a friend. He begins regularly
attending Narcotics Anonymous and has been clean & sober ever since (11½ years). In 2002, he
married his fiancée.
Electrician Apprenticeship (2001-2005): #1 in electrician apprenticeship program all five years (see
attachments). Perfect score on all 12 written tests in first year. Excellent reviews from all three
apprenticeship placements (see attachments).

How the Civil Service Commission handled Gene Mays’ case

Mr. Mays was and is qualified to be an excellent electrician for the City of Cincinnati. But the
Commission clearly demonstrated four separate times that—regardless of what the text of its rules may
say—it acts as though there is a blanket ban on hiring people with felony records, no matter how old or
irrelevant the record may be.
(1) In April 2007, a staff memo recommended that the Commissioners grant the Metropolitan Sewer
District’s request to remove Mr. Mays from the eligibility list because “it was found he had a
couple felony convictions on his record , and could therefore not be hired for City employment
(Rule 5, Section 12).” (See attached)
(2) In September that year, in preparation for Mr. Mays’ hearing to contest his removal from the
eligibility list, the Commission staff again wrote, “it was found that he had a couple of felony
 OHIO JUSTICE & POLICY CENTER
Memo to Mayor and Council re: City’s hiring policy
A
Page 2

convictions on his record, and could therefore not be hired for City employment (Rule 5, Section
12).” (See attached)
(3) At the September 2007 Commission hearing, Mr. Mays’ presented numerous documents laying
out all the details of his rehabilitation and his excellent qualifications as described. In response, the
Commission issued a three-sentence decision (see attached) that concluded that Mr. Mays would be
removed “based on the fact that when conducting the background investigation, it was determined
that there was a felony conviction on [his] record.” There was no discussion of any of his
rehabilitation and qualification evidence.
(4) When Mr. Mays appealed to the Court of Common Pleas, the Commission, as required by law,
assembled the record of evidence considered in making its decision. The Commission did not
include any of the rehabilitation and qualification evidence that Mr. Mays had presented at his
hearing.
The Commission is operating as though there is a blanket ban on the hiring of people with felony
records. It is more disturbing that the City now claims it can display half-a-dozen ex-offenders that it has
hired over the past several years: does the City apply this blanket ban arbitrarily and randomly?
Regardless, this practice is unjust and it must come to an end.

A smarter hiring policy

The City’s hiring policy should give ex-offenders a chance to contest their rejection based on a
criminal record and require the Civil Service Commission to articulate in writing why the criminal
record should bar the person from city employment:
 Are there any mistakes in the criminal  How old was the applicant when he committed
record documents? the crime?
 Is there some state statute absolutely  How many convictions does the applicant have?
prohibiting this person working in this job?  What has the applicant done to turn his life
 How serious was the offense? around since then?
 How old is the offense?  Is the conviction relevant to the job?
Best practice. As Mr. Dohoney’s memo documents, there are 13 cities or counties around the
country have specifically changed their hiring policies to allow for a fairer consideration of people
with criminal records. Go to: http://www.nelp.org/site/issues/category/city_and_county_hiring_reforms.
Defeat discrimination. Mr. Mays’ case sends a loud message to all ex-offenders in Cincinnati: it
doesn’t matter what you do to turn your life around, you still have no hope of getting a decent job
here. And because people of color are vastly over-represented in the criminal justice system, this
raises the specter of implicit racial discrimination. Now is the time to dispel that image and do
something smarter.
Promote public safety. Be smart-on-crime. There is ample research that the better the job an ex-
offender has (such as a city job with a livable wage and benefits), the less likely he is to re-offend.
Significant economic net gain: An employed ex-offender is a self-reliant tax-paying citizen instead of
he and his family becoming a drain on public and private social services, and on scarce public-safety
dollars.
CINCINNATI, OHIO AREA APPRENTICE
ELECTRICIANS' JATC OVERVIEW
As of 7/3/2007
Gene A Mays
32 Kessler Ave
Cincinnati,OH 45217

CURRENT INFORMATION
1" .
Year ~ ..... : Per iJ,W, ., Contractor 'United Electric" l.ast Instuctor

ADVANCEMENT DATES Good Luck

Pi P2 2/18102 P3 8726102; P4. 7/2J/03 P6 5/3/04: P6. 519/05' JW 511/06 JW'S!
•

PARALLEL ADVANCEMENTS CONTRACTOR HISTORY

PAl JW' 5/1I06i
fQ1fl:F!..A,fJ:9B.. ,, ;--'i
START
... F!!.'IJ§!:!
Bf2.7..oJ ;10/J1/02. )
WfllffieJ. Smith..
Unile.d.... . ltl25!Pl.
CLASSROOM TRAINING
Y!~aL AV~. ~AN_K
'2001
, .... :;:. 100.(1'
',' .- ..--.~.. , ~ ..1/641
"'--~
:-.
, I"
.... ; • ". '" "I , ••. _. • .. " .
,"" •• H . : t
96.8\'.. _1159;;
,2002 ". ''''_'''' : . I' i I' '1 ;" .
... _ (." ... ,....... I__.. _~ ... """-",,.1 ; ~ I ,
" .........j ,._--..._' "\ '" " ' - ' , r-"'---" ;" - ..... , ....... ,_,.'" .. "~""''''''
!j
1---""'" ." .•.",..... .1
I:
i"'~""" _,. H

I
2003 98.0,: 1160,' .. ; , .. _ i I. ! !,.. ,....... ,......•...... ...j 1··,····· ... ; J'" -.. . _J •• ~ "1
:!
"'''''., .•.. - .•. "'I ,..... ; J
;:
2004 98,0: 1155 ;;. " .?!' .S!
2005 98.6 1/53
98.2' 3.0: 3.0,
AVG-TEST AVERAGE RANK-CLASS RANK F..T-FAILED TEST . !"
ASS-SCHOOL ABSENCE A.. Exc-eXCUSED ABSENCE

PENALTIES & VOLUNTEER HOURS OJTSUMMARY

PERIOD LWR A ..HRS Fi.. HRS FA.. HRS TFCRPT MISC TOTMH - VOL '" DEL AdVancement will riot
occur until the greater of
1
6'i!her Hrs Needed or
"
;~
,. ., AcUve Delsy is satisfied,
2
,r, ........... \ Hrs Reported 8757.5
3 ,; . IOn WDI:k lWp"U)
. .. ... " . ..•.
: I. _.. i
(. "'if
, .I
... ' ~

;_ . . """1 ,-' MInus Hours

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.: I
._.' _I ... _.j f • ••

i' HIS Credited 8757.5

5 ;1 :; i
~ -- -- _. tl\~ntcl-MkwJ5~)
. ';, ......
I... -
-" "', . "'.
. ,
.,
6 HIS Needed -8757.5
rrg NIiXI. AdVM\eemont).
Active Delay
,!For Curram Perloi;l)

PENALTIES.. LWR-LATE WORK REPORT A.. HRS=ABSENCE FT-HRS-FAILED TEST FA..HRS-FAILING AVG TFC=TERMINATION FOR CAUSE
RPj-REPEAT YEAR' MISC=MISCELLANEOUS TOTMH-TOTAL PENALTIES VOL=VOLUNTEER HRS DEL=TOTAL DELAY

SO>lNDI XJQJ.oJ UP996E£!S P8:G! L88G/68/!!

 City of Cincinnati
Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati
•

Employment Reference Request (continued)

Please rate the applicant by circling the teml that best describes the applicant's
abilitieslbehaviors when he/she worked for you:

Job Skill: Able to perform duties Excellent Good Average Below Average Poor
after training; able to troubleshoot
problems and ftnd solutions; able to
think in abstract terms; able to break ./
complex problems down into
manageable steps.
Initiative: Resourcefolness; desire to Excellent Good Average Below Average Poor
solve problems; looks for work; asks
for relevant training. V
Attendance: Meets normal Excellent Good Average Below Average Poor
standards, including tardiness;
observance ofwork hours. .,/
Conduct: Behaves professiOnally and Excellent Good Average Below Average Poor
courteously; keeps emotions in check;
displays appropriate behavior at ./
appropriate times.
Interpersonal Skills: Includes Excellent Good Average Below Average Poor
participation and teamwork;
contribution to unit morale, working
cooperatively with others, including
peers and subordinates; accepting /'
advice and counseling from
supervision.
Attitude: Pleasant to work with; Excellent Good Average Below Average Poor
positive outlook; appropriate
demeanor.
,/
Quality of Worl.: Includes Excellent Good Average Below Average Poor
accuracy; achievement ofwork
assignments; completion ofwork on ./
schedule; neatness ofwork product.
Quantity of Work: Amount ofwork Excellent Good Average Below Average Poor
performed. ./'
Rules and Regs.: Complies with Excellent Good Average Below Average Poor
rules and regulations, poliCies, etc.;
practices safe and proper use oftools ,/
and equipment; behaves ethically.
Customer Service: Exhibits Excellent Good Average Below Average Poor
ejfoctive internal and external
customer service skills; is helpfol and /
effiCient to customers.

Signature:;(dJd. ~ Date: t/-/(} .. 0 '7

'7 Page 2
o Interdepartment
Correspondence Sheet

o City of Cincinnati
o ---- Date 4/19/07
,~~~-.,;,~~-

o
(j)
To Civil Service Commission

From Mildrd C. Howell

o Copies to

Subject
Files

REQUEST TO REMOVE NAME FROM LIST

o
Issue
o The Metropolitan Sewer Department is requesting removal of Gene Mays' name from the

o 'Open to the Public' Electrical Maintenance Helper list.

Background

o Mr. Mays is currently # 8 on the Open to the Public Electrical Maintenance Helper list.
On all open to the public exams, departments are certified 10 names. When the

o department did the background check on Mr. Mays, it was found that he had a couple Of
felony convictions on his record, and could therefore not be hired for City employment
(Rule 5, Section 12).

o Recommendation

o Staff recommends approval of the department's request.

o
o
o
o
o
o
o 0016
 Interdepartment
Correspondence Sheet

o C.
o tty of Cincinnati
o To Civil Service Commission

From Mildrd C. Howell

o Copies to Files

Subject REQUEST TO REMOVE NAME FROM LIST

0
0 Issue

Mr. Gene Mays is requesting to appear before Civil Service to appeal his name being
0 removed from the "open to the public" Electrical Maintenance Helper list.

Background
0 Mr. Mays was # 8 on the "Open to the Public" Electrical Maintenance Helper list. On all
open to the public exams, departments are certified 10 names. When MSD did a -
0 background check on Mr. Mays, it was found that he had a couple of felony convictions
on his record, and could therefore not be hired for City employment (Rule 5, Section 12).
As a result of their findings, the department made a request to Civil Service for Mr. Mays
0 name to be removed from the list. This was approved by the Commission at your 4/19107
meeting. Mr. Mays was not notified by the department of their request to remove his
name from the list until after Commission action had taken place. For that reason, he
0 wishes to appear before you today objecting to the removal of his name.

Recommendation
0 Based on Civil Service Rule 5, Section 12, staffs recommendation remains unchanged. _

0
0
0
0
0
0002
0
o
oCity of Cincinnati
o
o Civil Service Commission Two Centennial Plaza
Suite 200
805 Central Avenue
Robert L. Braddock. Chairman
O Margaret A. Allen, Vice-Chairman
James Robinson, Member
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Phone (513) 352-2400
TDD (513) 352-2419

o September 6, 2007
FAX (513) 352-5223

Hilary Bohannon, Secretary

o GENE MAYS
32 KESSLER PL
o CINCINNATI OH 45217

Dear Mr, Mays:

o At its meeting on Thursday, September 6,2007, the Civil Service Commission
heard your appeal concerning your name being removed from the Electrical
o Maintenance Helper open eligible list. After review and discussion, the
Commission decision remains unchanged.

o The decision was based on the fact that when conducting the background
investigation, it was determined that there was a felony conviction on your
o record.

o
o
o MCH:ob

o
o
o
o 0001