Ride-sharing company Uber typically does not allow people with felony convictions to sign up as drivers. But the company announced today that it will hire drivers who were originally convicted of felonies–but whose convictions have been reduced to misdemeanors under Proposition 47.
Prop 47, passed in 2014, reclassified several former California felonies as misdemeanors, including:
- Grand theft auto and grand theft firearm, if the stolen property was worth $950 or less;
- Shoplifting of property worth $950 or less;
- Check fraud and bad checks with checks worth $950 or less; and
- Possession of a controlled substance.
People convicted of one of these offenses as a felony prior to the passage of Prop 47 can apply to California courts to have their convictions reduced to misdemeanors under the new law.
Uber’s move is evidence of the benefits that Prop 47 offers for people guilty of minor offenses who are trying to get their lives and careers back on track.
But it is important to note that those benefits aren’t automatic–you need to file a petition for resentencing under the law with the court of your original conviction. If that petition is granted, your felony converts to a misdemeanor (and you become eligible to drive for Uber).
