Friday, November 23, 2012

Get Rid Of Work Cards In Nevada

From the LVRJ: Beverly Whitby knows fear.
She was savagely beaten, saw her oldest daughter die, lived under a bridge in a seedy part of Las Vegas and was forced into prostitution.
So it means something when Whitby says an experience is intimidating.
And intimidating was the word she used to describe getting permission from the Las Vegas City Council to work as a clerk at 7-Eleven.
Whitby had to stand at a microphone during a televised meeting and explain to the mayor and six other council members why they should override a decision by the Metropolitan Police Department to deny her the work card needed to be a convenience store clerk....
The work card program is a throwback to Las Vegas' past.
It's a system of background checks for people seeking to hold certain occupations.
The program was once considered a method to keep organized crime underlings out of gambling halls and other businesses associated with the mafia....
In Las Vegas, for example, 18 occupations require a work card, according to the city's licensing department. Cards are needed in North Las Vegas for 15 occupations and in Clark County for eight.
Jobs on the list in Las Vegas include restaurant, bar and convenience store workers who handle alcohol, strippers, baby-sitting service providers, commercial dance studio workers, martial arts instructors, door-to-door sales people, pawnbrokers and security guards.
The list of infractions that can lead to denial are scattered throughout city code, making it difficult for people to understand what it takes to pass muster in a particular field.
"It just says crimes of moral turpitude. That can be fraud. It can be alcohol-related offenses. It is quite a long list," Duddlesten said.  http://www.lvrj.com/news/work-card-program-in-las-vegas-comes-under-scrutiny-180575991.html
It's not the job of the government to decide who and who should get a job.  This is just a money making scheme by Metro and the various local government units.  It ought to be up to the employer to do the background checks and the employer's decision whether to hire someone or not.  Not Metro.  Not the City of Las Vegas, Clark County, North Las Vegas etc.
Get rid of the stupid work card rules.

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