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Podcast: Spartanburg City News
Episode: 'Ban the box' passage shows importance of citizen engagement
Description: When Spartanburg City Council voted unanimously to "ban the box" at a meeting in June, it was the culmination of a lot of groundwork from an involved local citizen, Meghan Smith The measure, which eliminates the criminal history question from City job applications, was a move councilmembers agreed was about fairness, removing the stigma some applicants may face in the hiring process and encouraging an evaluation of all applicants based on qualifications rather than having prior convictions automatically cloud the process. Under the changes, applicants will still have their backgrounds checked during the hiring process, but potential hires with a...