Last week, Gov. Martin O'Malley signed a bill that extends employment rights to transgender residents in Maryland. The Fairness for All Marylanders Act makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against employees or applicants on the basis of their expression of gender or gender identity. The bill also applies in housing, public accommodations and credit.
Baltimore bans discriminatory background checks in hiring
People who have criminal records often find trouble getting work--both here in Maryland and across the country. This is because many employers discriminate against those with criminal histories. This can be very unfortunate because it limits the ability of a person to move on from a troubled past. Many people with criminal histories simply made mistakes in the past and are now law-abiding citizens, and many others wear the scarlet letter of a criminal record even though they were only arrested and never actually convicted of a crime. In fact, it has been estimated that one in four Americans has a criminal record.
