Felons, high-school dropouts and the poor might get a helping hand when looking for a job in Broward County.
The County Commission is considering an ordinance that would require contractors to try and give half of those new contract-related jobs to hard-to-hire people.
"Try" is the operative word.
The ordinance would not require contractors to actually hire these people. They just have to make a good faith effort to find someone who falls into the hard-to-hire category.
When it comes to helping felons, the proposed ordinance may be the first of its kind. Cheri Nolan worked for the Federal Justice Department and heads up a consulting group that helps current and former prisoners.
"This is the first jurisdiction that I’m aware of that is actually delineating persons coming out of prison as a hard to hire population in need of assistance," says Nolan.
The Broward County Commission is slated to discuss the ordinance on April 11th.