GEORGIA – Georgia Governor Nathan Deal signed an executive order prohibiting state agencies from automatically barring people with criminal records in the job application process.  Deal says the order will help people with criminal histories re-enter into the workforce and not back into prison walls. The order went into full affect late February. Questions about an applicants criminal history have yet to be removed from the University of Georgia job applications. Grady Newsource contacted the HR department at UGA to find out when these changes will be made, but the university did not give an answer.

Associate Professor of Sociology Sarah Shannon says removing the box allows the ex-offender to explain his past convictions. She says this allows hiring professionals too see ex-convicts “as people, and not just a box on a piece of paper”.