FreedomWorks Statement in Response to Proposed OPM Revision to Federal Hiring Practices

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) proposed revision to the Declaration for Federal Employment form that would force prospective employees to disclose whether they were placed in a diversion program, Jason Pye, FreedomWorks’ Vice President of Legislative Affairs, commented:

"This proposed change should be withdrawn immediately. There’s already a stigma attached to a criminal record, one that often sticks with a person for the rest of their life. The entire point of a diversion program is to put people who have made small mistakes on the right track, without plaguing them with a criminal record."

"Although so much work remains to be done at the federal level, the entire point of the First Step Act was to focus on second chances for those who have gotten tangled up in the justice system. President Trump has proclaimed April to be Second Chance Month. This proposed change from OPM flies directly in the face of these efforts."