In two stark examples of how state regulators can zealously apply a law in apparent defiance of common sense, the Texas Department of Public Safety late last year denied a Tarrant County man permission to become a licensed alarm salesman because he took a pair of socks out of a Goodwill bin of used clothing; and a Travis County woman was denied the right to perform state vehicle inspections because once, when she was homeless, she’d spent the night in an abandoned house and been charged with trespassing.
Although Texas occupational licensing agencies are occasionally inflexible when it comes to forgiving a person’s criminal past, the Department of Public Safety is probably the most rigid of the regulatory bodies. Last week, I wrote about a case in which a state district judge had declared an applicant for a private security license “completely rehabilitated and…ready to re-take his place as a law-abiding member of society” after he had been released from probation stemming from a single crime the man had committed a decade ago. DPS rejected his application anyway.
The public safety department licenses a range of security-related professions, from guards and locksmiths to alarm system installers and salespersons. Like other occupational oversight agencies, it keeps a list of crimes which automatically disqualify applicants. Yet — like other licensing agencies — DPS has the discretion to then determine if applicants have made a reasonable case that they have been rehabilitated, or that extenuating circumstances outweigh their rap sheets.
Such flexibility gives regulators the opportunity to listen to applicants who have worked hard to rehabilitate themselves, or perhaps made a single error in judgment. Many licensed occupations offer better pay and job prospects for workers looking to improve their lives.
Christopher Owen seemed like he might qualify for such a second chance. According to administrative court records, by late 2014 he was at the end of an epic streak of bad fortune: “He had gone from owning his own oil and gas company to becoming homeless in a short period of time. During this time his home was destroyed by fire, he learned that his wife was having an affair and they divorced, and his mother died. As a result of these events, he suffered from depression.”
The court record continues: “On November 23, 2014, he was homeless, cold and wet and went into a Goodwill donation drop-off trailer to see if he could find a pair of dry socks. He had volunteered at Goodwill in the past and was aware that any donated socks would be discarded by Goodwill, not resold. He was caught while stealing the socks and arrested for Burglary of a Vehicle.”
Owen was convicted of a Class A misdemeanor and sentenced to 70 days in jail. It was his only legal transgression, the record says. Since then, he’d turned his life around, found work with a security company, whose owner described him as “honest, productive and valuable to the company.” If Owen were to receive his alarm salesperson license, the owner added, “that would increase (his) earnings.”
DPS was unconvinced. Owen applied for his license on Dec. 11, 2015 and was summarily denied 10 days later. A month after that, he appealed; the agency denied him again.
The public safety agency was equally unsympathetic to Krystal Turner, who in late 2011 was temporarily homeless and, according to court records, “found her way to an abandoned house and spent the night. When she exited the house the next morning, the police arrested her for criminal trespass. She subsequently learned the police monitored the house because of drug activity in the area.”
Turner pleaded no contest to the trespass and was sentenced to 15 days in Travis County jail. After another period of hard living — but no further crimes — Turner moved into a home for women in an Austin church. She found a job as a lube technician at a local automotive shop. She did so well that last November she was promoted to store manager at another shop, supervising four employees and managing the outlet’s cash and credit transactions.
While working full time, Turner also started attending Austin Community College classes to earn various automotive repair certifications. Court records show she has been “a straight-A student, is in the ACC honors program, and has been nominated for a national scholars program.” She also has served on a campus ministry.
The automotive shop owner admitted that he’d taken a chance by hiring Turner despite her criminal record. But, he added, she’d impressed him “with her strong work ethic, her excellent attention to customer service, her good rapport with both customers and employees and a genuine desire to improve the business.” The owner concluded: “Her honesty and work ethics are impeccable.”
But when Turner applied for her vehicle inspector’s certificate, DPS denied her.
Both Owen and Turner appealed their rejections to the State Office of Administrative Hearings, which adjudicates many occupational disputes. Last week, separate administrative law judges recommended that DPS give each applicant their respective licenses. “Ms. Turner is no longer the same person who committed the criminal trespass offense,” Judge Howard Seitzman wrote.
Such rulings are viewed as recommendations; the agency will decide next month whether or not to accept the judges’s decisions.
