Photo by Jame Devine.

A bill that would limit when private employers can ask about an applicant’s criminal history unanimously passed a Council committee this morning. While this would usually be welcome news for advocates, one says this version of the bill is “seriously compromised.”

In order to get the bill through committee, Councilmember Tommy Wells made two changes, as he told the Post. First, employers will be able to consider an applicant’s criminal history after the first interview, instead of after an offer of employment is made. Second, there will not be a provision giving applicants the right to sue over alleged discrimination. This will instead be investigated by the Office of Human Rights.

“The bill that emerged from committee is seriously compromised,” Ari Weisbard, deputy director of The Employment Justice Center said in an email. “Employers will no longer have to say whether a job applicant is otherwise qualified before learning about a conviction, opening the door wide for discrimination. We fear that this loophole along with the weak enforcement mechanisms in the bill will allow substantial discrimination against job applicants who are trying to overcome an arrest or conviction record.”

An estimated 60,000 people in D.C. have a criminal record, with about 8,000 returning every year.