Rights advocate groups call for work card reform

Erin Neff

Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2000 | 11:19 a.m.

Calling it onerous and overreaching, worker rights advocates called Tuesday for reform of a work card system they claim has made employment a privilege the government can take away.

The Las Vegas Interfaith Council for Worker Justice joined with the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada to seek changes in how Metro Police decides who may work in a variety of jobs in Southern Nevada.

"We want to keep drug dealers and child molesters away from our children," said the Rev. Phil Carolin of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada. "But what about all of the other jobs?"

Carolin and three others argued that certain jobs, such as child care and locksmiths, should have strict background checks to keep convicted child molesters and thieves out of the professions.

But they claim Metro's expansive work card investigations -- which resulted in 700 denials of employment suitability last year -- should not be required for busboys, cocktail waitresses and convenience store clerks.

"This is not Russia in the 1950s, this is the United States of America in the year 2000," said Gary Peck, the ACLU's executive director in Nevada.

The ACLU has been seeking work card answers for about seven months, when it first learned Metro was denying work permits for those arrested and not convicted of a crime.

Metro investigated 116,000 work card requests last year. Many of the 700 who were denied work had appealed Metro's decision to either the Las Vegas City Council or the County Commission.

Peck said he has tried for months to engage city and county officials in a "meaningful" discussion about the work card system.

Michael Slater, executive director of the Interfaith Council, tried to fill the communication void Tuesday by filing a request for Metro records under the Freedom of Information Act.

Slater said he objected to the "Willie Horton-style rhetoric" when Sheriff Jerry Keller spoke at the Feb. 2 City Council meeting. Horton was the convict used frequently in campaign ads that helped George Bush defeat Michael Dukakis in the 1988 presidential race.

Keller said Metro has a duty to protect the community and keep child molesters out of day-care work.

"That's designed to shut down dialogue and marginalize critics," Slater said. "Nobody's arguing that work cards aren't needed to keep child molesters away from children."

Slater's formal request to Keller for information asks for the revenue and expenses related to the work card program, as well as a delineation of the different job categories and eligibility criteria for both privileged and nonprivileged work cards.

The ACLU has gone on a similar offensive, enlisting the help of the National Workrights Institute in Princeton, N.J., to investigate the legality of Las Vegas' work card system.

"While there are isolated situations in which government authorization may be legitimate, such as practicing law or working in a sensitive position in the gaming industry, the current system in Las Vegas appears to go far beyond what is legally or ethically permissable," Lewis T. Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute, wrote in a letter to Peck.

The public scrutiny of the work card system has picked up momentum in recent weeks, with City Councilman Lawrence Weekly questioning the work card appeal process. At least one local resident denied a work card has met with an attorney and is considering suing Metro.

Peck and Slater said Tuesday that suing Metro would be the last possible option if dialogue ceases to bring reform.

However, they were to meet today with Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, and they hope to share their concerns with other elected officials.

"Despite our frustration, I very much appreciate the mayor's willingness to meet with us, and I hope others will follow suit," Peck said.